


Distant Dayz

by DaniJayNel



Series: 100 YumiKuri Stories [39]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Collab, F/F, Yuri, Zombie AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 22:22:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 37
Words: 189,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2245485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be another typical day at school for Krista and her friends, but the ambitions of greater powers unleashed a terrifying disaster across the world: the apocalypse. Not everyone gets a happy ending, something Krista finds out very quickly in her efforts for survival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Even if you don’t read author’s notes, please read this. 
> 
> This story has been co-written with Turbotail88 (FF.net), but with a twist. We have each written one half of the entire story. When I come up with the idea, I also decided to place a few rules down when we started writing. The rules were:
> 
> 1: We are not allowed to talk about the plot.  
> 2: No events of the future are allowed to be mentioned.  
> 3: The new chapter must be written without the other knowing what will happen.  
> 4: The person writing the new chapter is allowed to do whatever makes sense with the current plot, including events, characters ect. There is no limit, as long as it correlates with the plot. 
> 
> This means that while I wrote chapter 1, Turbo had no idea what the plot would be. I did not discuss anything with her, and she discovered how the story started by reading the completed chapter. Similarly, Turbo wrote chapter 2 on her own, taking the plot wherever she so desired, and I could only read it once it was done. We were not allowed to share ideas because it was a secret from the other, which made writing this so much more fun. This might have caused plot-holes, since we didn’t know what the plot really was and just winged each chapter, so excuse that. I wrote all of the uneven numbered chapters (1,3,5,7 ect), while Turbo had the even numbers (2,4,6,8).

Krista gripped the strap of her book bag with a cheerful smile and greeted the students that greeted her as she skipped up along the road to school. A gentle breeze fluttered her blonde hair about and with a flick Krista returned the locks to their formally neat position. As she did it, boys and girls alike watched with admiration and for many, with complete adoration. The little blonde was completely oblivious to her popularity and the multitude of fellow students pining after her – of course.

As the school came into view Krista’s smile widened and she fastened her pace. School was the best part of her day. Friends, learning and independence. Krista really loved her highschool and teen life, unlike some. Instead of grumbling about homework or stressing over her looks and social status, she accepted assignments with joy and extended her kindness to absolutely everyone. She cared not for labels or for being on top.

Eventually Krista arrived at her school and made sure to straighten her skirt and light brown pullover. Neat and proper, grin just dripping with gaiety, Krista gracefully crossed into the school grounds. While onlookers gawked and some guys excitedly slapped each other, Krista’s show was disrupted when she was suddenly tackled to the ground.

“Krista!” the attacker exclaimed happily.

Krista giggled despite the fall. “Sasha, do you really need to tackle me every time?” She sat up and with the help of Sasha, her fellow classmate and best friend – who had a tendency to act before she thought – and then got to her feet and dusted her uniform off. Sasha swiped Krista’s bag from the ground, bent down on one knee with her head bowed and offered the retrieved object as if it were gold.

“My apologies, God. I will try to remember not to do it again!” Sasha exclaimed. Students who walked by either rolled their eyes or chuckled.

Krista was among those that simply chuckled. “Thanks, Sasha.” She took her bag and dusted that off too. “So how did you sleep last night?”

Sasha sprang up and together the pair started walking towards class. “Fine as always. I dreamt of food!”

Krista giggled. “You always dream of food.”

Sasha sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, Mikasa gets irritated by that. Annie too. But food is so good Krista! How can I not obsess over it?” Just the thought of anything edible made Sasha drool, which she was currently doing, and instead of becoming annoyed at this Krista smiled in amusement and playfully bumped shoulders with the food obsessed brunette.

“Besides your love for food, did you manage to finish your homework?” Krista asked.

Sasha suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, a confused look on her face and her head tilted. “Homework? What homework?”

Krista covered her mouth with her hand. “Tell me you’re joking…”

“…Joking?”

Krista attempted to stifle her giggles. “Professor Levi gave us a reading assignment yesterday. Nothing really big, but we had to write a 2 page essay on it.”

Sasha covered her face with her hands and tilted her head back to release an anguished roar. “NOOOO! I completely forgot!” She uncovered her face and appeared in front of Krista. “You did it, right?” Sasha grabbed Krista’s shoulders, face contorted in absolute panic. “Right? You’re God! You can do anything!”

Krista winced and removed Sasha’s hands from her shoulders. She gave them a sympathetic pat and sighed. “I did it but you can’t copy an essay, Sasha. Remember what happened when you convinced Eren to let you copy his?”

Sasha shivered. “I… I couldn’t eat for a full day after that… Levi is so cruel.”

Krista’s face washed with compassion. “I’ll help you out, but only on one condition!”

Sasha squeaked and nodded with vigour. “Anything you want!”

Krista leaned forward and gently bumped their foreheads together. “Remember to do your homework from now on.”

Sasha nodded again. “Promise!”

“Okay.” Krista offered a kind smile, her face radiating beauty and compassion. “I will tell you what the reading piece is about and you’ll write your essay as I speak. We have exactly 40 minutes until class begins.”

Sasha whipped a notebook out of her half slung bag, found a pencil somewhere and adjusted her messy pony tail and fringe from falling in front of her eyes. “Got it! Start.”

Krista raised her eyebrows in slight surprise that Sasha was ready so quickly, but shook her head with a knowing smile. “Alright…”

As they slowly made their trek to class Krista rattled off about the reading piece and Sasha diligently concentrated while she jotted down messy sentences, tongue stuck out in concentration. They were both so absorbed that neither paid attention to where they were going and Sasha ended up colliding right into someone, hard enough to make them bounce off of each other and topple to the floor.

“Ah!” Sasha’s notebook and pencil went flying and she desperately grappled for it, but missed, and the objects sailed over the railing and fell down from the second floor. Sasha was on her feet not even a second after she had fallen and hung herself over the railing with a guttural whine of pure defeat. “My essay!”

“Forget your essay, dimwit! You fucking ran into me!” the person Sasha had bumped into roared from where she still sat on the floor, rubbing her jaw from where it had scraped on the ground.

Sasha glanced behind her with tears streaming down her face. “M-m-my essay…”

The fallen student rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“I’m really sorry for Sasha bumping into you, we weren’t concentrating.” Krista spoke up and extended a hand to help the fallen brunette back onto her feet. The brunette snorted and smacked her hand away, though.

“Don’t need your charity, Princess. Teach your idiot how to walk.” She stood and pushed Krista to the side before storming off and taking the stairs down where Krista and Sasha had just ascended.

Krista sighed. “Geez, some people.” She turned to Sasha and rushed to grab her around the waist. “Sasha don’t hang out so far, you’ll fall and die!” she exclaimed in panic.

“But my essay!” Sasha whined and allowed Krista to pull her back. She crumbled to the ground and sobbed, though melodramatically.

“Hey! Idiot, is this yours?” a second blonde yelled out after ascending the stairs right behind Krista.

Sasha glanced up with a sniffle and widened her eyes. “My essay!” she exclaimed and threw herself at the stony blonde glaring at her. “Annie, are you God too?”

Annie clenched her jaw and prepared to land a kick to Sasha’s face but a strong grip landed on her shoulder and halted her assault.

“Calm down Annie, she didn’t mean it.” Mikasa said coolly and pried the messy notebook from the seething blonde’s hand. Annie let her take it and simply folded her arms with an unhappy frown on her face. “Here,” Mikasa held it out to Krista who took it with a sheepish smile.

“What happened?”

“It landed on Annie’s head. She fell over and now her ego is bruised.” Mikasa hid a grin behind her scarf and threw a look to Annie over her shoulder. “But she’s just a big baby. And you need to keep your big baby from throwing things off of the second floor.”

Krista gave Sasha’s head a pat – the brunette had crawled over to Krista in tears and had wrapped her arms around her waist – and gave the essay back to her. “Sorry, she bumped into someone and the book went flying.”

“That idiot doesn’t need any excuses to fail in life!” Annie snapped and looked up with a glare. Mikasa turned to glare back and Annie looked away and shifted uncomfortably. She was smart enough not to add another comment.

“So what is this about an essay anyway?” Mikasa asked in her usually monotone voice, though she gave Annie an amused wink and grabbed the short blonde’s elbow to pull her along as they all walked to class together. It made Annie blush slightly at the warm grip, though Mikasa didn’t notice.

“Sasha forgot about the essay so I was helping her with it,” Krista explained. “But we weren’t looking and Sasha ended up walking into this tall brunette. She was really mean, too! I tried to help her up but she slapped my hand away.” Krista poked a bottom lip out and pouted. “No one has ever been that mean to me before.”

“No one has ever been mean to you.” Sasha pointed out cheerfully. She had just finished scribbling her last sentence not even a second ago and felt her previously low spirits back up and high.

“Yeah, you’re like the most popular girl in school.” Annie commented with a bored expression and half closed eyes. She didn’t look at any of them but allowed Mikasa to continue with the hold on her elbow.

Mikasa gave Annie a look with a tiny smile and nodded. “Yeah, if we did a popularity test everyone would vote for you,” she said.

Krista blushed. “Stop it, you guys! You know that isn’t true. I’m just nice to everyone, it’s nothing special.”

“So modest too,” Annie added.

“Endearing,” Mikasa agreed.

“And adorable!” Sasha chipped in happily.

Krista blushed even harder and looked down to hide it. The other three laughed at her reaction and together they all continued on to class.

Not long after they all reached class and took their seats, their homeroom teacher, Levi, stepped in and the school day officially began. Despite the silly start and Sasha’s forgetfulness and the trouble it always caused, Krista felt her chest buzz with warmth and happiness. She loved all of this, especially all of those unexpected moments she had with her friends. Krista wouldn’t trade any of this for anything.

When register had been taken the bell for first period eventually rang and a few students sighed at the inevitable. Levi announced that he would be taking their essays in and would mark them in class. As he started collecting the papers, a few students started to sweat.

“Hey, Sasha! Psst, Sasha!” From the desk next to the one Sasha and Krista shared, a bald boy gestured wildly.

Sasha finally noticed and leaned over closer to him. “Yeah Connie, what’s up?”

Connie swallowed hard and a drop of sweat fell from his face. “I, uh, forgot about the essay. Did you do it?”

Sasha gained a smug expression and laughed evilly, though quietly. “I did!” she declared just as smugly as her face glowed.

Connie narrowed his eyes. “Let me copy it, quick!”

Sasha’s smugness dropped and she shook her head. “Can’t. Krista said it isn’t a good idea to copy an essay.”

Connie sighed dramatically and straightened in his seat. He rubbed a hand over his head and settled in, waiting for the doom that was to come and accepting that no trickery on his part could avert it.

Krista watched their interaction with a fond smile and giggled. They were always so silly, and whether they did this purposefully or if they really were that air headed, Krista would never know, but either way it made her day brighter.

The blonde focused back onto their teacher who was busy making his way down her line of desks. So far each student he had passed handed in an essay, and when he got to Sasha he simply paused at her desk and glared down at her with unimpressed narrowed eyes. Nervously Sasha presented her messy essay to him and gulped audibly when he didn’t take it and merely stared at Sasha’s face for a few seconds, looked to the paper and then raised an eyebrow. Levi said nothing more, added Sasha’s paper to the others and grabbed Krista’s.

Everyone released a collective sigh of relief but most tensed up right after. Even if they weren’t suffering Levi’s glare, it was stressful watching others suffer under his wrath.

Levi made it to Connie’s table and held a hand out, waiting. When no paper was presented to him, Levi frowned. “Oi, boy. Where is your essay?” he said in that scary voice he did that made everyone shift uncomfortably.

“Well, uh, you see… it’s a long story…” Connie started sheepishly at first but ended in a squeak. He was now in a full panic and sweat trickled down his face.

“Cut the bullshit. Did you do it or not?” Levi demanded. Connie bowed his head and stared intensely at his hands clenched together tightly in his lap. He wanted to but could not bring himself to say it. It was plainly obvious that Connie hadn’t done it, and Levi knew this, but he wanted the boy to admit it. Still not breaking his cold exterior and cool expression, Levi slammed his hand on Connie’s desk and leaned in close to the boy’s face. “I asked you a question, you worthless piece of shit. Did I stutter?”

Connie startled and looked up into stony eyes that sent a shiver down his spine. He strongly berated himself for being stupid enough not to do the homework Levi had assigned them. What idiot did that? Connie did, apparently.

“Oi, I said–” Levi’s threat was interrupted by a shrill scream from somewhere outside. It sounded terrified and pain filled, making the students all glance at each other in worry. There was another scream, from the same person, and then another. “Everyone stay here and don’t come out,” Levi ordered. He dropped the stack of essays onto Connie’s desk and briskly walked out of the class.

Krista glanced at Sasha in question, but Sasha shrugged. “It sounded like someone got hurt. I hope nothing happened,” Krista said softly with a hand pressed to her chest.

Sasha shrugged again. “Beats me. Levi will probably sort it out if it’s just some students slacking off and playing around.”

Krista nodded in agreement but swallowed. That scream had sounded serious. No one simply fooling around would make such a sound of horror.

Around them students began to whisper amongst themselves. Most of them had already concocted different theories as to why and who screamed like that. Some said it was a girl fight, other people guessed it was a lover’s spat. A group of particularly seedy boys suggested something a lot more sinister.

Outside Levi walked up to the railing and glanced down in search of the origin of the scream. When he noticed it his stoic expression cracked and his eyes widened. In the school courtyard there was a group of students, but they were split into two. The first group were huddled together in the centre, some holding chairs up or their bags and the second group were advancing. What really shocked Levi was that the second group of students looked anything but normal and were riddled with blood and wounds. They shuffled and moaned unnaturally, empty white eyes trained on the terrified group they surrounded.

The second group outnumbered the first, and when one of them managed to grab a girl from the middle, he immediately sunk his teeth into her shoulder and ripped a large chunk of flesh from her body. Blood spurted out and splashed against the pale boy’s face, but he neither blinked nor reacted in any way other than groaning and continuing to chomp on her shoulder.

She was too weak to get out of his hold, it seemed, and when she released a blood curdling scream, Levi startled away from the railing, heart pounding and mind racing.

His first instinct was to return to his class and barricade the door, to make sure that the students that were obviously the walking dead couldn’t attack his still very much alive class. At least, he hoped they were still that way.

Before he could turn around to return to the classroom he heard the shuffle of feet to his side and then a guttural moan. As fast as lightning Levi spun around and came face to face with another male student. Half of his face was gone, with his lower jaw hanging on by a single piece of flesh. Underneath his fingernails that were extended towards Levi were thick traces of blood and skin.

The thing stumbled forward and made a grab for Levi, but the short and stocky teacher immediately side stepped, grabbed the boy’s arm, put his free hand against his shoulder and then pushed with all his might and flipped him over the railing and down to ground floor; immediately after, Levi noticed a number of similar students moaning and trudging slowly towards him, so he wasted no more time and hurried back to class. The moment he stepped inside the students ceased their conversations and glanced up at him. When Levi slammed the door shut and started throwing students out of their chairs to use that and their desks to barricade the door, the students realized that something serious and something terrible was happening.

“S-sir Levi?” one of the girls asked nervously.

“Alright listen up because I will only say this once,” Levi announced after the last desk went against the door. A second later there was banging and moaning and the mountain of neatly stacked desks and chairs rattled dangerously. “Our school is under attack. Ever heard of zombies? Well some of your wishes have finally been granted.”

“Zombies?” one of the much braver boys spoke up. “That’s impossible. Zombies only exist in fiction. It isn’t even scientifically possible.”

Levi glared at the boy until he shut up and slunk away. “You can either believe me and survive or think I am joking and get your skin torn to pieces. Ever wondered what you taste like? Well I'm sure those blood thirsty bastards outside would love to try it out for you.” The seriousness in Levi’s voice left no doubt for any of the teens, and when the door started to bang and the barricade rattled even harder, there was a deathly silence of terror. If it wasn’t for Levi’s calm and his intense energy, everyone would have gone on a panicked rampage to escape however they could.

“Now we need to figure out how we are going to escape this alive. Going through the door is obviously not an option and I give it about a minute more to hold. Any suggestions?”

One of the boys immediately stepped forward and raised his hand. He looked like he was trying to keep his cool, but he trembled and his body was incredibly tense. “Sir, why don’t we climb out of the window and into the other classroom? One of us can check to see if it is safe and then we can escape there.” He visibly swallowed and stared just as intensely into Levi’s hard eyes.

“We have about 20 seconds left, Eren. We will need you to make a quick job of it while we hold the door. Got it?” As Levi spoke he walked calmly over to the barricade.

Eren swallowed and nodded. “Understood, sir. Armin will watch out for me.” Eren turned to his blonde friend and they both hurried over to open the window. Luckily there was a wide enough edge that allowed room for Eren to shuffle along to the next window. He hoped it would at least be open and began sliding along the ledge.

Meanwhile inside of the class, the door cracked down the middle and the moans from outside rose in pitch. It was frenzied and excited and drowned out the confused murmurs and frightened crying from inside of the class.

“Don’t just stand there like dumb shits, help me keep the door up!” Levi commanded, snapping everyone into action.

As the students that regained their sanity raced to help Levi keep pressure against the door, Krista watched with a sense of detachment. She struggled to understand the situation and her mind whirled around in unease.

Zombies? There was absolutely no way. Such a thing didn’t happen in reality. There was no way it was a real zombie apocalypse happening. Levi must have been pranking them, and doing a damn good job at it. Though Krista started backing away from the door in fear, the noises and banging each resonating painfully in her chest that made her heart jerk even harder with adrenalin and fear. This was happening too suddenly for her to accept. There was no way this was happening!

“He’s right!” someone exclaimed.

“There are zombies all over the school!”

“Look!”

Students who weren’t assisting Levi hurried to the window and glanced out. All of them either gagged and looked away or simply covered their mouths in shock. Krista’s back was pressed to the window and she could hear the extra moaning and screaming from outside, but she was too frightened to look. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. If she didn’t look then it wouldn’t be real!

“Krista, are you okay?” Mikasa stepped up to a pale looking Krista and put a hand to her forehead.

“She’s in shock.” Annie commented with a hint of worry. The normally stoic pair were both looking anxious and jittery, jumping at every little noise from the door. They didn’t seem to be in denial like Krista, but they didn’t quite know how to react to the situation either. They did stand more closely together, though.

“Where’s Sasha?” Krista managed anxiously. “Where is she?”  All three of them frantically searched the room to find their missing friend, and found her hiding in the small storage closet in the corner. She had her arms covering her head and her face hidden against her legs that were pulled up against her chest. Softly Sasha chanted to herself as she rocked back and forth, body trembling.

“Sasha!” Krista dropped down by her side and wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay, we’re here. You aren’t alone. We’ll make it out of this.” Internally Krista realized that she didn’t accept that this was really happening yet, though she still felt intensely scared. Her body trembled just as much as Sasha’s, but seeing her friend so terrified made some of her shock melt away.

“What are they, Krista? I l-looked outside and I saw people eating people… but they didn’t look like people… they looked like… like… z-z-zom…”

Krista trembled violently. “Levi said the school is under attack by zombies. Eren is checking to see if we can escape out of the window.” The blonde glanced up at the other two standing worriedly by the door and silently pleaded for their help.

Mikasa knelt down by Sasha’s other side and put a firm hand on her shoulder. The warm, strong touch helped Sasha’s shivers and they very nearly stopped. “Sasha,” Mikasa said softy into the brunette’s ear. “I know it’s scary, but we have to go. That boy that went next door will be back any second, and we can’t stay here. Do you think you can stand up?”

“Everyone, push harder! It won’t last much longer!” Levi yelled to the teens and those gawking out of the window ran to his side to add their strength. Armin sat on the windowsill calling out to Eren who was out of sight, but obviously still alright.

Sasha flinched when a particularly loud bang echoed in the classroom. She shook her head. “I don’t want to. It’s too scary to go out.” She sniffled and her shoulders shook as she started to sob.

“Sasha, if you stay here they will get you. Overcome your fear to survive. We’re right here. I have my katana,” Mikasa touched Sasha’s hand with the sheathed end of her sword to prove her words and continued, “and Annie has her double blades.” To prove that she really did, Annie pulled her blades out of her school bag, clipped them apart and tapped them against the metal door of the storage closet so that Sasha could hear. Both of them always kept their weapons nearby for reasons that were still unknown to everyone but them. At least now their relentless need to carry them was paying off.

Sasha trembled again but seemed to have calmed some. She lifted her tear streaked and red face and looked at the three pairs of worried eyes. “Will you protect me?” she asked brokenly.

Annie and Mikasa nodded at the same time, but Krista merely stared at the floor. There was no way she could protect anyone anyway. If anything, Krista would need even more protection.

“Sir, the class next door had a few of them but I took them out!” Eren announced from the window. He stuck his head in and waved his arm. “It’s safe! Everyone can climb out one at a time.” Eren disappeared back to the next door class again and Armin stayed behind to make sure everyone got out.

“Sasha, we have to go now. Take my hand,” Mikasa said softly but sternly. She kept her gaze soft and stood. “Please.” Sasha looked to Krista for reassurance and when the blonde nodded slightly, she took Mikasa’s hand and allowed the black haired beauty to hoist her to her feet. “I’m proud of you. I know how scared you must be.” She kept a hand wrapped around Sasha’s wrist and pulled her over to the window. “Go first.”

“B-but…” Sasha hesitated and glanced behind her at the loud banging and the scrape of desk legs against the floor.

“Go! I will be right behind you, I promise.” The conviction in Mikasa’s voice and the honesty in her eyes made Sasha swallow her fear and let Armin help her out of the window. She started to walk along the ledge but froze in panic. “I’m right here.” Mikasa spoke beside her and touched her hand.

Sasha swallowed and took a breath. She started walking again until Eren grabbed her and helped her down into the class, Mikasa right after.

“Thank you.” Mikasa said politely with a nod.

“No problem. Mikasa, is it?” he asked. Mikasa nodded. “I’m Eren, nice to meet you.” He held his hand out but Mikasa simply stared at it with a frown.

“This isn’t the time to make new friends.” she said stiffly and walked over to Sasha to help her calm down. Eren simply shrugged and helped Krista and Annie in, along with many other students.

Krista joined her friends, breathing heavily and face pale. When she walked along the ledge she had gotten a good view of the school and the chaos infected upon it. There were no longer any doubts in her mind. This was really happening.

“Do you think Levi will make it?” Annie asked from beside Mikasa. She couldn’t stop herself from pressing a hand to Mikasa’s lower back in an attempt to calm her unease. Mikasa noticed the touch and leaned slightly into it, since she too felt out of sorts and it wasn’t a good feeling.

Krista locked eyes with Annie. “I hope so,” and as she said it the last of the students along with Armin came tumbling through the window.

“We just made it!” Armin announced. He helped the girl he had fallen with to her feet and went to Eren’s side.

Everyone waited tensely for Levi to show up, and when a minute had passed the silence turned solemn.

“Fucking scum!” a familiar yell broke through the quiet and then a flash of black hair vaulted through the window and Levi landed in a crouch. He was soaked through with blood and looked extremely displeased at the fact, but simply flicked the liquid off of his hands and straightened. “Congratulations on not dying yet, now we need to keep it up.” He walked over to the closed door, ignoring the few bodies scattering the floor, and pressed his ear to the surface. There was hardly any sound directly outside of the class, so he opened the door and glanced to each side.

“Mikasa?” Krista spoke up suddenly as they all watched Levi at the door.

“Mm?”

“I’m really scared.” Krista reached out with a trembling hand and gripped the front of Mikasa’s shirt. The taller girl’s calm soothed Krista enough not to break down and panic, but she was still frightened out of her mind.

“It’s okay, stick to me and we’ll survive.” Mikasa gave her hand a gentle and comforting squeeze, and then shared a look with Annie. Annie nodded in understanding.

“Class, this floor is relatively clear. I took out most of them from our class, but there are still two or three walking around. If we can make it to the end of the floor and get down the stairs, we can make it to the bus and get out of here. The bus is only a few minutes away in the parking lot. Do you all understand me?” Levi didn’t look behind him as he spoke and kept his eyes trailed on the outside. So far his analysis of the situation was still correct.

The class softly agreed and grouped up behind Levi. His support made most of them fairly confident that as long as they followed his orders they would not end up as zombie food. They were definitely correct in the assumption.

Levi ordered for everyone to quietly follow him and left the class. Krista’s heart jerked painfully and continued to jackhammer as she followed the group. She and Sasha were both between Annie and Mikasa who were on high alert and guarding them from the sides. Krista felt guilty that she was being such a burden in such a situation, but she knew that trying to be brave and help would only get her and many others killed. Sasha was too frightened to care about anything other than Mikasa and Annie.

The group swiftly and quietly walked slowly towards the stairs. When they reached it Levi signalled for them to stop and glanced around the corner. He immediately jumped back and whispered furiously. “Hurry up the stairs, now! Go to the roof! There’s a whole group about 5 seconds behind coming up the stairs. Our only option is up!” Levi glanced at Eren who nodded.

“Come on guys, hurry but stay quiet!” Eren gestured for everyone to follow and quickly headed first up the stairs.

Krista tried to quiet her breathing but she was hyperventilating and her heart was beating too fast. She kept a death grip on Mikasa’s arm and pressed close to her, while Sasha did the same to Mikasa’s other side. Annie had to watch from all sides with Mikasa made immobile the way she was. 

Together the class made it up the stairs with no incident. The door to the roof was unlocked, luckily, and Eren threw it open and jumped out into the open, the bloody scissors in his hand thrust out to kill anything near.

“It’s clear! Hurry!” Eren exclaimed as quietly as possible.

From down the stairs Levi attempted to hold the zombies off as best as he could, but he was smart enough to realize that they would easily overpower him. He turned and bolted up the stairs.

“Jaeger, we need to run! There’s too many!” Levi yelled as he made it onto the roof and kept running. Eren immediately shut the door and followed. “Everyone, jump to the next building’s roof! It isn’t a long jump, we can make it.” Levi didn’t pause for a moment and leaped over the moment he reached the edge of the roof. He landed on the other roof with a flawless crouch and turned around to beckon the others. “See? Easy!”

One by one the other’s hurried over. Eren stayed behind to make sure everyone got over, but glanced nervously at the rattling door. It was about to burst at any moment. “Hurry!” he yelled.

Annie attempted to get Sasha to jump but the brunette was stubbornly refusing, so she simply picked Sasha up and jumped with her. Everyone was surprised that Annie could have done it.

The last to jump were Krista, Mikasa and Eren.

“Jump!” Eren encouraged, panicked eyes flicking over to the door that had now broken down. A horde of bloody, decaying and moving bodies advanced towards them.

“Krista?” Mikasa calmly glanced down at the trembling blonde gripping her arm. “You can do it. Jump with me.” Numbly Krista nodded. She was terrified and doubted that she could do it, but she knew that she had to.

“Ready?” Eren asked. Mikasa nodded and the three took a few steps back. Mikasa removed Krista’s hands from her arm and gave her an encouraging nod. Behind her the dead continued to almost jog excitedly towards them, dead, pupil-less eyes watching them intensely.

They took a breath, zombies reached out and were mere centimetres away, and then the three students broke out into a run.

Krista was a second behind, and felt the moment slow down for her. Each breath echoed in her ears and the other roof appeared too far away. Her heart thumped unevenly and her entire body went numb, but she ran and when they reached the edge, she jumped. Due to being slightly behind, one of the zombies managed to grab onto Krista’s shirt and tugged her back. She uttered a scream and reached out towards Mikasa who had just landed and was turning around with wide, panicked eyes.

“Krista!”

Krista fell back onto the roof and rolled onto her feet. Either by pure fear or the instinct to survive, she managed to evade the bloody hands and ran to the edge of the roof. She was nowhere near the other roof, though, and had effectively cornered herself with no escape. The dead advanced and Krista started to cry.

This was it. Because of her own weakness and her lack of bravery, she failed and her life was about to end. Why was life so cruel, and why did it have to end like this? As she sobbed Krista backed up, not willing to let her life end at the hands of these unnatural monsters. She feared falling, too, but it was the better of the two choices.

The anguished cries from her friends were drowned out as Krista reached the edge and her foot went over. She stepped onto nothing and her body sagged backwards, and then fell. She watched the zombies lunge for her, some falling too, and sucked in a sharp breath.

Suddenly Krista flailed out and she managed to catch onto the railing of the second floor. Her arms flared with pain at the impact but the adrenalin gave her enough strength to hold on. She would have hoisted herself up, but one of the dead managed to grab onto her leg and she was being held down. Krista cried out in panic and tried to kick at the thing’s head, but her arms ached and she nearly slipped. From the second floor another zombie shuffled closer and leaned over the railing to stare into Krista’s face. A thin line of meaty, bloody drool leaked out of its open mouth and plopped against Krista’s cheek. Her eyes widened, and from looking between the zombie gripping her leg and the one leaning over her, she knew that her second chance was just as much a lie as the first. Once again she was looking into the face of death.

Krista closed her eyes and flinched as new noises erupted around her. Crunches, squelches, screams and groans. It all filled her ears and chilled her blood. The blonde lamely attempted to shake the dead at her leg, but it held on tight. The noises were too much and she simply squeezed her eyes and waited.

Arms wrapped around her upper body and she was tugged up. The zombie hanging onto her finally lost its grip and fell to its bloody second death. Krista’s breath hitched and she uttered a terrified scream, flailing against the body pulling her up and then pushing her down. Cold hands shot out and pinned her wrists to the ground, and the body pressed down firmly to her own. Krista squirmed and panicked but didn’t open her eyes, because she was too scared to see what was leaning over her.

When no bite came and there was no other movement, Krista finally managed the courage to see why the zombie hadn’t attacked. Slowly she fluttered her eyes open, and then her heart skipped a beat.

“I-it’s you.” Krista uttered through quivering lips.

The tall brunette sitting on top of her glanced down after surveying the area and grinned. “You’re the blonde from earlier. I bet you’re glad to see me.” The taller girl looked around again, eyes darting everywhere and chest still. She seemed deathly calm and alert, and with the grin on her face it was as if she was enjoying this.

“Y-you saved me.” Krista said. “What’s your name?”

The brunette glanced back down at her for a second. “Ymir.” She looked around them again, eyes narrowed and suspicious but the smile still in place. “And if you want to continue on with your pretty little life, follow me.” Ymir sat up and crouched. Krista hesitantly copied the motion but quickly grabbed onto the back of Ymir’s shirt. The brunette glanced back at her in confusion.

“I just nearly died twice. Please let me just hold you so that I don’t almost die again.” Krista pleaded.

Ymir rolled her eyes but nodded. “Fine. Whatever. Now, do you have any idea of how we can get out of here? Luckily the brain-dead blocking the stairs followed that class upwards, so it’s clear.” Ymir readjusted her hold on the pole in her hand. Krista hadn’t noticed it until then. She also hadn’t noticed the zombie on the floor close to them; the one that she thought had grabbed her. Ymir must have killed it. Was it even called killing?

“Y-yes,” Krista answered in a shaking voice. “I was with the class, and Levi says the school bus is not too far from the stairs in the parking lot. We can make it there.” Krista also hoped that the others had gotten there already and hadn’t left yet. If they had made it then they could easily jump on the bus too and drive the hell out of there.

Ymir shuffled over to the railing and took a peek over. She spotted the familiar yellow school bus and nodded. It was in the parking lot closest to the building. They could make it if Ymir could manage to avoid or fight off the surrounding dead.

“Okay, listen. You’re short and I’m tall.” Krista managed to puff up slightly at that, despite the intense fear still churning her stomach. “So climb onto my back and hold on tight. It will be easier for me to get to the bus without you lagging behind me and possibly getting snatched.” There was a moan in the distance and Ymir snapped her head up. A zombie had shuffled out of one of the classes, froze for a second and then turned towards them. It looked directly at them and started walking over. “We have to leave right now, so climb on and hold on as damn fucking tight as you can.”

Krista nodded numbly and wrapped her arms around Ymir’s neck and her legs around her waist. The brunette stood and Krista noted that Ymir really was right in their height difference. At least Krista hardly weighed anything, and with Ymir’s strength it would hardly add much of a challenge.

“Ready? This is gonna be a bumpy ride.” Ymir said cheerfully. She eyed the oncoming zombie and started walking towards the stairs.

Krista wasn’t ready, but she tightened her limbs around Ymir’s lean body and nodded. Ymir grinned cheekily and jumped over the whole flight of stairs. From that point Krista just shut her eyes and buried her face against the back of Ymir’s neck, trusting that the brunette would get them safely to the bus.

The zombie that had shuffled towards them groaned and swiped at them, but missed and fell forward and down the stairs. Ymir laughed at it and jumped down the rest of the stairs, dodging lone zombies or simply shoving them out of the way. When she reached ground level she waited at the edge of the wall and surveyed the area.

The bus was directly ahead. They could make it. There was only a small group of the dead loitering around. But the moment Ymir took a step away from the wall every zombie paused and then turned to their exact position.

“Shit,” Ymir muttered softly and looked around for the best path to take. She decided that head on was the quickest way, since there was a giant horde walking their way from the field and they had less than 5 minutes to make it to the bus before they were noticed by them.

Pole poised, Ymir ran forward and calmly took as many of the dead out as she could, dodging hands and lunges as she did so. Her earlier grin had developed into a frown as she concentrated on the battle at hand and on the battle that would soon ensue if she didn’t move her ass.

Finally there was a break in the moving dead bodies and Ymir bolted for the bus. She took out one last zombie, sticking her pole directly through the eye socket with so much force that it pierced through and stuck out from the back of its skull. The zombie gurgled and then crumbled to the ground.

In the next few breaths Ymir used her powerful long legs and made it to the bus just in time. She wrenched the door open, flew inside and then slammed the door closed behind her. Ymir walked down the bus aisle and looked out of the window at the dead surrounding them. Surprisingly none of them had noticed Ymir’s entrance into the bus, so they were finally safe.

Ymir released a breath and laughed. “Fuck yeah! We made it.” She ran a hand through her hair and remembered that Krista was on her back. The blonde was trembling and tense, and not moving at all. “Oi, you can get off now. We’re safe.” Ymir poked Krista’s arm but got no response. She sighed and went over to the back of the bus. “Hey, get off already. You get heavy after a while.”

Krista finally released her grip and fell to the bus floor. She remained on her hands and knees, eyes still shut, and focused on her breathing. There were no bangs on the bus and no moans close by, so Krista trusted Ymir that they were safe, but she was still trying to recover from the most frightening experience of her life.

“Blondie, are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a zombie.” Ymir laughed loudly at her own joke and plopped down on the long back seat. She stretched her limbs and sighed in satisfaction when they popped.

“I’m Krista, not Blondie.” Krista finally stated and sat back, still on the floor.

“Well Krista, it looks like you’re my survival buddy.” Ymir held her hand out. “I know I treated you like shit earlier, and I don’t want you to throw me to the dead, so let’s start over, yeah?”

Shakily Krista took her hand and they shook. “You saved my life,” she stated. “For that I owe you everything.”

Ymir snorted and slumped back against the seat. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll remember that you owe me. For now get some sleep or something, you honestly look like shit. We’ll move out when night falls. If fiction has taught us anything, it’s that it’s safest to escape zombies under the cover of night. If it’s dark they can’t see us.”

Krista shivered and shook her head. “I don’t think I can sleep right now. I’ll be too paranoid and scared that they’ll break into the bus while I’m asleep and I’ll wake up while being eaten.”

Ymir narrowed her eyes for a bit and then scratched the freckled bridge of her nose. “Doesn’t bother me. I’m a light sleeper. Wake me if anything happens and I don’t wake up for once?” Krista didn’t respond, so Ymir shrugged and snuggled down with her arms folded behind her head.

For the rest of the day Krista sat rigidly, listening to the groans and shuffles outside of the bus. No other survivors made it and Krista’s class didn’t either. It meant that they either hadn’t survived or found another way out. Krista hoped with all her heart that it was the latter and not the former. There was no way that they wouldn’t have survived with Levi with them. That man was scary but damn brilliant.

It was getting dark and the last specks of light flickered out from the horizon. It was almost as if the darkness intensified the dead groans from outside.

At least it wasn’t painfully quiet. Ymir was snoring and grumbling in her sleep, and would occasionally twitch. It made Krista smile every now and again and took her mind off of the terror for a few seconds. Eventually the darkness began to weigh heavily on Krista and she crawled over to the slumbering brunette and shook her shoulder.

“Ymir, wake up. It’s dark enough.”

Ymir slowly opened her eyes and glanced up at Krista with confusion. A second later and it dawned on her, and then she nodded and sat up with a yawn. “Are there any still outside?” she asked and tousled her hair.

“No. I stopped hearing them about an hour ago. What is the plan?”

Ymir ran a hand over her face and released one last yawn. “We should see if the entrance of the school is clear or not, and find a way out there.” Ymir explained. Krista nodded and stood up on shaky legs.

“You lead?”

“Sure. I don’t have a weapon though. Lost my damn pipe.” Ymir stood and towered over Krista, but the blonde found it strangely comforting. “I’ll need to find a weapon for us both before we skip off. I don’t want to be caught in a group of them with just my bare hands. Do you have anything on you?” Krista shook her head. “Great.” Ymir sighed and made her way to the door.

She silently pulled it open and stuck her head out to listen. One of the lampposts flickered to life, blinding her for a second. Ymir quickly recovered and surveyed the area. It was completely empty.

“It’s clear, stay here for a bit and I’ll find weapons. I’ll be right back.” Ymir said over her shoulder and then jumped down from the bus. Krista reached out towards her, but was too late. She had already disappeared into the night.

Krista could hear every sound of the night and watched anxiously for any signs of the dead. She flicked her eyes back and forth, heart pounding harder the longer she waited. After 3 minutes of waiting Krista saw a figure saunter out of the darkness and covered her mouth with both of her hands to keep from making a noise.

“Krista, come on! It’s safe.” The figure turned out to be Ymir and Krista sighed in relief.

She gently climbed down from the bus and quietly walked over to her tall saviour. “What did you find?”

“I found a gun.” Ymir said proudly and showed the weapon. Krista flinched but was grateful. “This we’ll only use if we absolutely have to. There’s only 10 bullets.” Ymir put the safety on and shoved the gun in the waistband of her pants in the back. “I found knives in the staff kitchen and grabbed one for each of us. They’re crappy knives but better than nothing when you’re fucked. Here,” she handed it over to Krista and was glad that the blonde simply took it.

Krista put it in the belt of her skirt and looked up at Ymir anxiously, waiting for the brunette to hurry so that they could get out of there and somewhere safe.

“And for the big show I found a tennis racket for you and a golf stick for me.” Ymir handed the tennis racket over and grinned.

“Where did you get the backpack?” Krista asked after taking the supposed weapon.

“In the staff room. I figured we might need it so I grabbed some food from the fridge. There were bottles of water too. We’re lucky bastards. Are you ready?” Ymir inclined her head towards the direction they would head in, where sounds of the dead emanated from.

Krista swallowed. “No, but I have no choice.”

“Don’t lag behind and don’t get killed.” Ymir warned. When Krista nodded in understanding Ymir started walking towards the school gate. Krista latched on to the back of her shirt and looked around them anxiously.

They silently slinked around trees and kept to walls and eventually made it to the entrance but found that somehow a car had crashed into the gate and it was completely sealed off. It also didn’t help that there were groups of the dead simply standing around or walking into each other.

Ymir cursed under her breath. “We’ll need to go with plan B then,” she said.

“Plan B?”

“It’s the only way out of the school. We’ll need to retrace our steps and make our way back to the bus, and then go over to the field. There’s this spot I normally use to skip school. A tree branch leans over the palisades and it’s really easy to climb. If we can get there then we can make it out of the school alive.”

“And after that?”

Ymir paused. “And then after that we wing it. Maybe find a car or a building. We should make it somehow.” Ymir pushed off from the wall and they walked back the way they came, taking extra precaution this time not to make any sound.

After tense minutes they reached the bus again and took a moment to rest. It was stressful as they walked because both of them kept tense and alert, ready to either fight or run.

“Okay, enough rest. Let’s go before it gets too late.” Ymir led the way and started towards the field. It was only a 5 minute walk, and when they got there Ymir paused to survey the area. “Alright, most of the group are concentrated up in the left corner there,” she pointed to the left of the field where, as she had pointed out, most of the dead had grouped together. “The tree we’re looking for is in the middle of the right side. It shouldn’t take long to get there. If we just stick to the gate and stay quiet then we can sneak right past the bastards. Got it?” Krista nodded and Ymir stepped away from the wall.

To their horror the moment Ymir stepped out into the open, every zombie on the field froze and then turned and stared directly at them. They had been sensed.

“Shit, we didn’t make any sound!” Ymir exclaimed.

“Did they smell us?” Krista suggested from where she trembled behind Ymir.

The brunette shook her head. “There is no breeze to carry our scent. We made no sound. We have no light. How the fuck do they know where we are?”

Unfortunately they didn’t have much time to stand, panic and ponder, because the large horde had already turned and was headed in their direction.

“Krista, we have half a minute to run like hell and get to that tree before the dead get there first. Can you do it?”

“I think so.” Krista responded fearfully and swallowed.

“Either way, we have no choice. Now, RUN!”


	2. Chapter 2

Mikasa trudged along wearily, her eyes wide and horrified, her expression solemn. To her left, Sasha attempted to comfort her, but to no avail – the grief she felt at having lost Krista was far too much. Was she dead? Did she fall to her death, or did those monsters convert her to one of them? The need to know killed her on the inside.

Annie remained stoic to her right, ignoring the inner turmoil she felt at having failed to save her friend at last. Sasha knew she was failing in her efforts to lessen the severity of the situation, for she too felt empty inside at the loss of her dear friend.

Ahead of them, Levi led the decently sized group of students across desolate rooftops. They had managed to make it into the city by skipping over buildings and houses. His aim was to reach a building with enough resources and space to keep them safe from the undead. Eren stayed next to him to boost the morale of the group, while Armin offered suggestions to improve their chances at survival.

“If we can split off into two groups,” Armin said lowly, “then there's a smaller chance of getting detected and therefore a higher chance at survival.”

“True,” Levi agreed, “but... who would lead that second group? Who would even volunteer to go? Your ideas are theoretically good, but in reality there is no way to apply them to a group of frightened teens.”

Armin nodded, his face pale and grave. “I understand.” To himself, he mumbled, “then we're all dead.”

“Hey everyone! Why are you all so damn miserable? You're alive aren't ya? You're away from those flesh-eating monsters, right?” Eren shouted, walking backwards and pumping his fist.

“Shut up, Eren!” a boy yelled, “or else you'll attract the whole damn horde with your freakish height and loud voice!”

“Oh God...”

“I don't wanna die!”

“I want my mom!”

“Eren, just stand down for now, alright? All you're doing is making them feel worse,” Levi sighed, putting a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. Eren nodded with a frown on his face and turned to face the front, eyes shifting around for any sign of trouble.

When the group reached the edge of the roof they were on, Levi surveyed the area and cursed loudly. There were billows of smoke rising from deeper within the city, where several key establishments were – including the police station and the hospital.

“Shit,” Levi muttered, “guess we're on our own now.”

“How's your wound?” Eren spoke suddenly, moving forward and pressing his hand to Levi's side. The gash had been bandaged up by Armin using the sleeves of Eren's shirt, which had been torn voluntarily.  Levi pressed his lips together and shoved Eren's hand away, turning around to locate another roof to jump to.

“It's fine,” he grit through his teeth. Eren rubbed the back of his head and backed away, suddenly feeling cold without the sleeves on his shirt. Armin watched their exchange with curiosity, but pushed it down when Levi spoke up.

“Okay, class, we're gonna move to that roof over there. You see it? That's an apartment complex, and it's deserted. It hasn't been in use for ages because of mould, mice infestations and shitty sewage. That's where we'll be living from now on, and where our 'headquarters' will be. Any objections? No? Goo-”

“Yes, I have an objection,” Mikasa interrupted, eyes blank and face stoic.

“What is it?”

“Will we get to see our families again? To make sure they're still alive?” Around her, all students' eyes widened in realization – so caught up in their own terror and fear for life, the teens had forgotten about their loved ones. 

Levi stared at her for a long time before sighing and looking away. “Look, this situation is bad – really bad. The last thing we need is searching for something that might not even exist anymore and getting us all killed.”

“You're just saying that because you have no family!” a girl shouted.

“Yeah! You're the loner teacher of the school – no one likes you except for Petra, Erwin and Hanji, and that's only because they knew you from way back!” another boy added.

The short teacher trembled in anger and clenched his fists tightly. “Listen, you little fucks – I just risked my neck to save your lives, so I better have your respect seeping out of your oily pores. If you want to go find your little family, go right ahead! This will be a choice you will most likely regret, because I won't be there to save your asses. There is NO second chance – if you're bitten, you're royally screwed.”

The rest of the protests died and the tension thickened. Annie slowly walked up and next to Armin, Sasha following hesitantly. Mikasa, inner struggle evident, squeezed her eyes shut as she dragged her feet to stand beside Eren. She wanted to go look for Krista, to make sure she was dead and not undead but... Levi was right. There were no second chances, no way to undo a choice already made. She was not ready to find Krista... yet.

Suddenly, a girl collapsed to her knees, sobbing in despair. “No! No! My daddy's a police officer and the station is on fire! My mom is a nurse and the hospital is burning! My life is over!”

As her hysteria grew, so did the unease of the other students. They all watched, horrified, as the girl choked on her tears. Eventually, another girl knelt next to her and shook her, murmuring encouragements and promises of a happy future. Levi looked away in disgust.

Slowly, the teens' faces grew solemn, and they finally understood the gravity of the situation. There was no turning back – no more happiness, no more families, no more comfort – it was all about survival now. Their key to survival? Levi, the man who excelled at remaining cool under any fire.

“So are we going or not? We need to get there before it gets dark,” Levi continued impatiently, crossing his arms and watching a horde of zombies devour a young couple. Their screams echoed loudly through the neighbourhood.

“...we're going,” a boy answered despondently, head hung low.

“Good, you won't regret this decision – I can assure you of that.”

Levi turned on his heel and leaped across the alley between the rooftops. Below, hordes of zombies littered around, moaning and groaning as they reached up helplessly to gather flesh for their insatiable hunger.

The students followed their teacher and moved on to the next rooftop. Levi did a headcount and ordered Armin to remember it – they had seventeen students at the beginning, minus Krista, which now made fifteen... wait, what?

Levi's eyes widened and he repeated the headcount, sweat going down the side of his head. They had seventeen students, they lost Krista, but they had fifteen? Who was missing? How did they leave? When? Why?!

Armin seemed to have reached the same realization, but kept quiet, already knowing the answer. He closed his eyes and offered an empty prayer for his lost classmate.

Connie... where did you go?

x

Connie ducked, dodged and sidestepped every being that came in his way. He had in his hand a bloodied aluminium baseball bat he'd found near a corpse and had taken to beating anything that threatened to overtake him. He had to find his family, he just had to! What happened to him didn't matter, just knowing that they were safe was all he could think about. Mom... Dad... Brothers and sisters... please be safe.

He ducked into an alley and panted harshly, trying to regain his breath. They were strong, those monsters. They could detect him without any use of their five physical senses, and they advanced rapidly despite their rotting flesh. Not to mention, the strength in their bites... Connie had been witness to many deaths already, and the sun had yet to set.

He was surprised that he still had yet to break down and bawl his eyes out, but he supposed it was the adrenalin and shock that kept him going. He could feel it rushing through his veins, empowering him and giving him a feeling like no other. He could conquer the undead and rescue his family, maybe even bring them to Levi so they could be safe. He just hoped he could reach them on time!

Connie pushed off the wall and swung the baseball bat to his shoulder. He sidled along the brick wall and peeked around the corner of the convenience store. There were a few zombies dragging their feet across the street, but nothing he couldn't handle. With a grin, Connie prepared to leap out, but was abruptly pulled back into the arms of something far too strong.

His eyes widened and shut before he could even let out a scream.

x

The group reached the roof of the apartment Levi spoke of and gathered near the door leading down into the building. With the help of Eren and a few other boys, Armin excluded, the door was broken down and moved aside. Levi entered first and commanded Eren to go in last, an order the boy happily complied to. Armin stayed next to Eren while Mikasa kept close to Levi, along with Sasha and Annie.

Sasha watched Mikasa with a sense of dread, already feeling the normally quiet girl slowly slipping away from her and into her own despair. There was most likely guilt eating her from the inside due to losing Krista, and though Sasha wished she could assure her wellbeing, she couldn't. Sasha couldn't help Mikasa, she couldn't help Levi, she couldn't even help Krista, even after the blonde had helped her...

Thinking of Krista and her genuine kindness made Sasha want to bawl, so instead she focused on Annie and her cool attitude. How could the blonde be so indifferent about what was happening? Did she even care at all? Maybe she too felt the need to shut herself in after losing Krista, but at least she hadn't had the misfortune of watching Krista fall into the arms of the undead, like Mikasa had.

“Stop,” Levi ordered, halting in the middle of a hallway. The group had moved down several flights of stairs and had managed to make it halfway down the building. The stoic teacher turned around and asked Mikasa to help him open the door.

Mikasa winded up her leg and broke a hole near the doorknob. She shoved her hand through it and unlocked the door from the inside. As she walked in, followed by a smug Levi, several students watched in awe. Sasha grinned to herself and Annie allowed a tiny smirk.

The group moved into the room, which was incredibly large and well-furnished, despite the evident moth-bitten curtains and mouse holes. There were two bedrooms, one bathroom, one kitchen and a single lounge area large enough to comfortably fit a group of ten people.

“S-sir?” Sasha stuttered.

“Yes, Sasha?”

“What will the living arrangements be like?”

“I'll answer that,” Mikasa interrupted. She unsheathed her katana and made a deep line across the wooden floor. “We girls take the bedrooms, while the boys take the lounge. Don't worry, we'll share the cushions, and we can always take some from the other rooms.”

Levi nodded and silently dared anyone to contradict him. When no voice protested, he walked to the table in the middle of the lounge and sat in front of it. “I want all of you to start working together and setting up everyone's beds. Also, find some clothes to wear if you can, and make this place more... liveable. We're gonna be here for a long time. Except... I want you five right here.”

He beckoned Mikasa, Eren, Annie, Sasha and Armin to him. The other students simply shrugged and got to work. Levi asked for a paper and pen and handed it to Armin. “You have the best memory out of all of us, I assume, so I want you to make a complete list of the class – before the outbreak of the undead. Then... I want you to cross out the missing students. Don't forget to number them.”

Mikasa clenched her fists tightly and Annie grit her teeth. Sasha shuddered visibly and looked away, discomfort clear on her face, while Eren bowed his head and snarled. Armin nodded, his expression serious, and got to work. He made sure to leave Krista and Connie for last.

“Annie, Mikasa – you two are clearly seen as leaders in this group, therefore I want you in charge of outings we may undertake in the near future. We're gonna need supplies and food, especially when night rolls along and it becomes too cold. Eren, you're in charge when I'm not available, meaning when I'm dead or not here. And Sasha... go around and keep everyone happy. Your job is the most important, because if we're not happy, we'll get into arguments and dissonance. When I say 'happy', I mean conversations, games and keeping everyone busy. Got it?”

The girls and boy nodded and stood to help the other students with their chores.

“Before you go,” Levi called out, standing up, “it's important that you know of Connie's disappearance. Don't breathe a word of this to anyone, and if someone asks, send them to me.”

Visibly shaken, the teens nodded once more and resumed their actions. Armin handed the list of students to Levi and followed his friends while the teacher sighed deeply and clutched the throbbing gash in his side.

“I don't know what the fuck is going on,” he muttered, watching the sun set over the horizon, “but I hope it's over soon. I'm getting real tired of this shit.”

x

Krista panted as she tried to keep up with Ymir. They dashed across the field, trying to outrun the horde of undead seemingly locked onto them. They had half a minute to reach the tree that could lead them over the palisade and therefore out of the hellish danger zone known as school. The groans of the undead echoed in Krista's ears, and she almost lost her footing several times due to her own desperation.

Ymir seemed to be doing well and looked absolutely at ease with the situation, and Krista envied her slightly for her control over what was happening. Ymir was brave, just as Mikasa and Annie were...

The tree was in spitting distance, and Krista watched as Ymir swung herself on top and extended her hand out to her. Krista looked behind her and nearly shrieked when the bleeding eye sockets of an old acquaintance greeted her. She quickly climbed up the tree, taking Ymir's hand, and held onto the brunette tightly. The rotting bodies of teenagers clawed at the tree, some even attempting to climb, but otherwise did nothing. Krista and Ymir were safe for now.

Ymir scowled down at Krista when the blonde clutched her shirt tightly. She understood the fear, but did she have to hold on so tight? Either way, it was up to her now to find a safe place for them to go. All they had to do was jump over the fence and they'd be home free... or so she thought.

There was another horde loitering a few metres outside of the school property, dressed like staff and students alike. Ymir narrowed her eyes at a seemingly deserted car – if they could secure a means of transportation, then perhaps they could travel into the city and find a more permanent area to live.

“Ymir, we need to go! I can feel the tree moving!” Krista cried out in worry, biting her lip. Ymir glanced down and saw the monsters pushing and ramming with all their might. She poked one of their heads with her stick, but the monster quickly reached up and pulled on it. She cursed loudly and let go of her weapon as she shoved Krista over the palisade, jumping with her. Grabbing hold of her hand, the brunette pulled them along and dashed straight to the vehicle. Krista made sure not to express her surprise too loudly and tried her hardest to keep up with Ymir's incredibly fast pace.

“Where are... we going?” Krista panted. She watched the group of undead behind the fence clawing and groaning in protest at their departure. A shudder flew down her spine at the thought of turning into one of them.

“Car!” Ymir answered curtly, not even sparing a glance behind her.

The brunette pulled Krista to the car and nearly cried in relief – the keys were in the slot, but it was obvious what had happened. She thanked her luck and unlocked the car, shoving Krista in the passenger seat and taking her spot in the driver's seat. She quickly ignited the engine, threw her backpack in the back seat and floored the gas after switching gears, evading the zombies that had started to make their way toward them.

“Seat belt!” Krista scolded, “there's no point in getting away if we'll just die in a crash!”

“I'm kinda busy driving here!” Ymir snapped.

“Fine! I'll do it for you!”

Ymir grit her teeth and blushed lightly as Krista reached over and pulled the belt across her body. When it was safely clipped in, the blonde turned to her own seat belt and pulled her belt across as well. They were slowly exiting the school environment and entering official city limits. However, what they saw dropped their morale drastically.

There was a horde of zombies feasting on citizens crying and shrieking and begging for mercy.

Ymir tightened her grip on the steering wheel and drifted the car, turning to go down another street. Krista sat dumbly with her tennis racket in her lap, still in shock over what she had seen. She lowered her head and nodded to herself, understanding that, finally, her perfect world had come to an end.

This was hell, and she was expected to survive or die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	3. Chapter 3

The dull reverberation of the car’s engine filled Ymir’s ears, as well as the cold silence inside of the car. From her seat Krista breathed quietly, eyes dancing behind her lids as nightmares overtook her. The blonde had slipped into unconsciousness the moment she had slumped against the car door, due to her exhaustion from not resting when Ymir had, and suffering the despair and terror over the past 15 hours.

Her perfect existence had ended only 15 hours ago. Krista still couldn’t wrap her head around the sudden outbreak or how it could even be possible.

While Krista slept Ymir kept her focus on the road, but she squinted her eyes a few times to remove the sudden bleariness. She had slept on the bus but it hadn’t been enough, and as fun as the past hours had been, Ymir was tired. She’d hardly had any sleep before this zombie mess started and her seemingly endless amount of energy had run out.

They had been driving for a while through the streets of Maria and most of them had been empty. People must have fled for the centre of town when the zombies attacked, but there were a few that had remained and were infected. If it even was an infection.

Since Ymir had been wrong in her assumption that it would be safe to escape the zombies at night she had lost faith in every fact about zombies that had been created in the media. They would have to figure this out on their own to determine how the zombies detected them and what made them tick.

Did they infect with a bite, a scratch, or with their infected blood?

What caused the outbreak?

Where did it start?

How can the zombies be taken out?

What attracted them?

All of these questions circulated in Ymir’s mind. Sure, she felt more exhilaration and excitement from this than fear, but she liked to know what she was up against. How could she expect to survive if she did not know what the enemy was about? They had too little information at the moment, but Ymir was determined to change that. It was only the beginning, so they had time if they survived.

Ymir sighed and ran a hand over her face. She glanced over at Krista who was shivering and looking unhealthily pale.

How can someone get _that_ scared?

The brunette shook her head, wondering again why she had impulsively saved the blonde when she should have just left her to get eaten and found her own way out. She didn’t have any more time to ponder, because when Ymir glanced back at the road and turned the corner, she cursed loudly and hit the brakes. Krista jerked awake and flailed in panic as the car swerved and then skidded right off of the road, tipping and rolling down the side of a hill.

When the car finally rolled to a halt Ymir shook her head to clear it and ignored the thin stream of blood dripping down the side of her face. She mentally thanked whatever higher power there was that had made Krista fasten her seatbelt earlier, and quickly unbuckled it. They hadn’t landed upside down, thankfully, and Ymir hurried to Krista’s side and started yanking at her seatbelt.

“Krista, wake up! Come on, hurry!” She struggled to remove the seatbelt because the crash had broken the thing, but through sheer desperation – there was a horde of zombies tumbling down the hill, only seconds away from tearing their throats out – and strength she managed to tear it off and leaned back to kick Krista’s mangled door open. In one fluid movement Ymir sprang out of the vehicle and pulled Krista onto her back.

“Goddamn you’re heavier when you’re out cold.” Ymir hissed softly under her breath. She turned to assess their situation and glanced up at where they had flown off of the street. Damn zombies just had to walk in one giant group in the centre of the street, and now those that had noticed, though how Ymir wasn’t sure yet, were mindlessly shuffling towards them. Ymir cursed their luck and bolted to the right.

The moment she moved away from the car and started running, the zombies on their tail froze for a second, and then started running right after them.

“Jesus!” Ymir exclaimed after glancing behind her. Zombies don’t run. They shuffle and stumble. But these zombies were racing after them, faster than even living people. If Ymir didn’t find any shelter or something in the next minute those zombies would catch up to them and with Krista weighing her down, there was no way Ymir could escape.

Although, if she dropped the blonde the zombies would be occupied with her and Ymir could make a swift escape. It was a good idea and one that ensured she survived for at least a few more hours.

But Krista had apparently woken during the last few seconds and tightened her arms around Ymir’s neck, her face now buried between her shoulders.

The soft, warm pressure made Ymir’s heart skip a beat and her stomach clench.

She shook her head to get rid of the sudden guilt and continued to run on.

“Krista, are you awake?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. We’re kind of in a shitty situation right now.”

“Wh-wh-what happened?” Krista sounded terrified and weak, which was probably exactly how she felt.

Ymir took a sharp turn around a bunch of trees and forced her long, powerful legs forward. The one or two fastest zombies rounded the corner with just as much ease and ran on, though some of the undead weren’t as quick or smart and ran right into the tree.

“I wasn’t looking properly and turned a corner onto a street full of these bastards. I braked but we flew off of the road and now the car is fucked and we’re being chased by the undead fuckers. Any… ideas, blondie?” Ymir felt her lungs burn as she couldn’t breathe enough to compensate for her insanely fast run. Talking hadn’t helped either, and now she was feeling light headed and dizzy on top of already being exhausted – more so now.

Krista uncovered her face and glanced in front of them, despite her intense shaking and the fear knotting in her stomach. As scared as she was she didn’t want to become more of a burden to the person that had saved her life more than once. So she desperately searched the area for anything that could save them, and spotted buildings up ahead.

“There! It’s a small shopping centre for the neighbourhood.”

Ymir acknowledged the find with a grunt and started running towards where Krista had pointed, going slightly to the left. In a matter of seconds they burst out of the bushes and onto a parking lot. Without taking a moment to breathe Ymir noticed an open door and bolted for it. When they reached it she quickly dropped Krista and turned to slam the door closed – which she managed to do a second in time. The moment the door closed bodies slammed against it from the outside and banging echoed in the room.

“This… should… hold.” Ymir panted out and coughed. Her voice was breathy and hoarse and her legs felt like jelly. “Stay here.”

They couldn’t rest if they didn’t know how secure the building was, or where they were. So Ymir ordered Krista to remain where she was and quietly walked down the small passage from the door. The lights were out and Ymir wasn’t keen on finding a switch. Regardless if they could sense light or not, Ymir did not want to alert anyone of their presence.

She felt around the wall for something and touched the tip of something cold and hard. When she wrapped her hand around it and lifted it, she noted the sturdy weight and how solid it felt. It was some sort of long, metal object, but Ymir didn’t care enough to stay and observe it to find out.

Krista remained in the small corner by the door, shivering and flinching each time a new body crashed against the big metal door. She prayed that the door really would hold and that Ymir would hurry.

A few minutes later Krista stiffened when she heard shuffling down the dark passage towards her. It was too dark to see anything other than a figure approaching, and Krista felt her pulse spike dangerously high. She wanted to scream for Ymir, but that could alert whatever was walking towards her that she was there if it didn’t know yet.

“Y-Y-Ymir…” Krista released in a terrified whisper and covered her mouth with her shaking hands. She closed her eyes and folded into a ball, hoping that she was not about to die.

The shuffling came closer and paused right in front of her, and then whatever it was dropped down to the floor and released a breath.

“What are you doing?” a voice spoke up and Krista felt her panic melt away. “Sorry for–” Ymir was interrupted when Krista suddenly dove into her arms and buried her face against her chest, sobbing. She wrapped her arms around the brunette’s neck. Ymir froze at the contact, but slowly relaxed and awkwardly returned the hold. She felt an intense urge to point out that Krista was being unnecessary, they were safe now, but instead bit her tongue and rolled her eyes. When Krista eventually calmed and her sobbing eased, Ymir lightly shoved her off and shakily got onto her feet.

“Sorry for taking so long,” she said, “getting back was tough because I'm exhausted. I found some candles and matches so there’s light. There’s also a couch.” She tugged on Krista’s shirt to make the smaller girl follow her and walked down the passage and turned right into the building.

“It’s a car service centre.” Krista commented as she glanced around at the sparsely lit area. There were tools scattered all over in appropriate areas, as well as tires. One car was suspended high up atop an automotive lift, and below it were more scattered tools as well as a tool box.

Ymir walked past it and continued on to the very end of the garage where a three-seater couch was pushed up against the oil stained wall, and beside it a small fridge on top of a table.

“We’ll take shifts.” Ymir announced and sat down heavily on the couch. “You take the first shift and stand guard. In a couple of hours wake me up and I’ll take over. You probably didn’t sleep much in the car.” She stretched her arms above her head and sighed in satisfaction at the cracks in her stiff limbs.

“B-but…” Krista glanced around in panic. “I can’t stand watch! What if they break in and I can’t wake you in time?”

Ymir sighed and gave Krista an unimpressed look. “We’re safe. I didn’t walk around here for as long as I did for fun. The garage doors are closed and locked with chains. The back door we came in is locked with a bolt that I locked, and the front entrance is already sealed with a chain. It looks like whoever was here before us secured this place pretty well. Too bad someone left the backdoor open.” Ymir felt the back of her pants and then tossed something at Krista.

The blonde failed to catch it and had to pick it up from where it had fallen. “What is it?”

“A screwdriver. Do you still have the knife I gave you?” Krista nodded. “Great, now you have a screwdriver too. I’m going to sleep, so make sure nothing sneaks in and kills me.” Ymir removed the kitchen knife and gun she had and placed them down on the floor beside the backpack she had brought with too.

Krista wanted to argue and stood shivering in front of the couch. But Ymir really did look exhausted and she turned onto her side, back facing Krista, and started snoring within a minute.

With no other option Krista swallowed and sat down by the couch. She leaned against it and allowed Ymir’s loud, unattractive snores to comfort and soothe her nerves.

Krista swallowed hard and knew for a fact that if the undead broke in, she definitely wouldn’t survive.

XxX

After a long while, Krista didn’t know exactly how long it had been, the blonde woke Ymir for her shift of guarding the place. The blonde then took her place on the couch, but she didn’t prepare for sleep. She was not tired anymore and doubted that she could go to sleep after sitting stiffly for hours, terrified and unsure if they were truly safe there.

“Not going to sleep?” Ymir commented with a bored expression. She was over by the fridge, rummaging around for anything. There was no power but it was cold enough to keep the contents alright for a while. The food she had found in the staff room at school hadn’t been all that fabulous. She found a few cans of beer and grinned in satisfaction as she pulled one out, popped it open and downed a long gulp.

“No, I’m not tired. You shouldn’t drink, you know.” Krista watched with a frown as her survival buddy drank the entire can of alcohol in seconds.

Ymir crunched the now empty can in her hand, belched loudly and then tossed the can over her shoulder. “Why, squirt, because I’m underage?” Ymir asked with an eye roll.

“Well, no. What if you get drunk and those things break in? We’ll both get killed.”

Ymir chuckled. “One can of beer won’t make me drunk.” Ymir went over to the edge of the couch and plopped down on it. “So, you’re the daughter of that rich bastard?”

“My father isn’t a bastard.” Krista shot back angrily.

Ymir shrugged. “Whatever.”

They fell into uncomfortable silence. There was no sound other than their breathing. Eventually, though, Krista felt the need to initiate conversation to relieve the depressing atmosphere.

“So, you go to my school?” she asked, and then paused. “Went?” she corrected.

“Obviously.” Ymir replied sarcastically. “I’m wearing the damn uniform, aren’t I?”

“I’ve never seen you before yesterday morning, when you bumped into Sasha.”

“Sasha?”

Krista looked down at the floor. With all the panic up until that point she had hardly thought of her friends. Were they alright and alive? Where were Levi and the others? Krista hoped more than anything that everyone was safe and in one piece.

The blonde opened her mouth to recount the events where Ymir had bumped into and then acted rudely towards Sasha and herself, but a sudden bang from the roof interrupted and tore at their attention.

“What was that?” Krista asked fearfully.

“I don’t know.” Ymir gripped the wrench in her hands and stood from the couch. Another bang echoed through the room, and then the metal door to the air vent popped off, crashed to the ground and something dropped down from inside of the roof. “Stay behind me.” Ymir ordered sternly and stood in front of Krista who had sat up and fearfully gripped a handful of the back of Ymir’s shirt. She also gripped the screwdriver tightly in her hand, against her chest.

Whatever had just entered the room had landed past the reach of the soft candlelight, so neither teen knew what it was until there was a groan and footsteps tapping towards them. Ymir held her weapon out in front of her and took a step forward, too.

“What are you doing?! Don’t leave me!” Krista cried out softly.

Ymir ignored her and took another forward step at the same time as the other being took a step closer.

Seconds ticked by and their heartbeats thundered. Krista continued to tremble like she had for what seemed like days, and Ymir tensed her muscles. The brunette looked concentrated, but then a smile tugged at her lips.

“Are you going to just hide there and scare us shitless?” Ymir called out. She relaxed and dropped her defensive pose.

“Heh, sorry.” A person stepped out of the darkness and into the candle light, and Krista released a gasp.

“Connie!” She jumped off of the couch and ran up to the limping boy. He grinned broadly and accepted her hug. “What happened to you?”

“Yeah,” Ymir eyed him suspiciously. “You’re full of blood. You weren’t bitten, were you?”

Connie gave Krista’s back a pat and pulled away from the hug. He shook his head and sighed. “Most of this isn’t my blood.”

“Well, what happened?”

Connie didn’t answer until he had limped over to the couch and dropped into a seat. “Well,” he started. “It’s a long story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	4. Chapter 4

“Then get on with it,” Ymir grumbled in annoyance. She crossed her arms and watched Krista scoot closer to Connie. She noticed the careful way in which the blonde inspected the obvious bump on the back of the boy's head and turned her head when a strange sensation boiled in her stomach.

“Does anything hurt?” Krista asked gently.

Connie smiled in reassurance. “Not really, I found some painkillers when I passed by a drugstore, so I don't feel a thing. I got my head slammed though, and I'm pretty sure I remember twisting my ankle when I got away–”

“–you _remember?”_ Ymir emphasized, walking closer with menacing steps, “what else do you _remember_ , Connie?” She leaned down to snarl in his face, and he leaned back with poorly-concealed fear.

“Don't be so hard on him, Ymir!” Krista snapped, clenching her fists in her lap. When she heard a low moan and a slam from the outside, she flinched and squeezed her eyes shut tight.

Ymir threw her arms up and sighed in exasperation. “Am I the only rational person here? Krista, this kid just came to us bloody, hurt and possibly bitten – and the worst part? _He might not even fucking remember._ Do you even know what happened to you? Why aren't you spilling anything, baldy?”

Connie turned to Krista to hide the insecurity in his eyes. “What's her problem? And who the hell is she?” he asked, laughing nervously. The blonde opened her eyes and tried to smile at her friend.

“Connie, just do what she says, and answer her questions. She doesn't look it, but she saved my life many times since,” she gestured vaguely with her hands, “all of this.”

The boy still looked suspicious but nodded slowly. “All right, well, it all started like this...”

x

Connie woke to the sounds of people arguing – a male and a female. As he slowly came to, he blinked the sleep from his eyes and sat up quickly – and then immediately held his head. A throbbing seared from the back of his skull, and the pain made him teary-eyed. He groaned and slowly lied back down to calm the pain, but that attracted the attention of the people arguing, a fault on his part.

His eyes still closed, he relied on his hearing to sense the footsteps stopping next to his bed. He felt the person lean down and inspect him closely. From his sense of smell, he could detect a sterile but musky scent, and it at once comforted and frightened him.

Then, he wasn't breathing and he opened his eyes to see a pair of fingers pinch his nose tightly. He gasped for breath and tried to sit up, but the person – he could see it was a man with thin moustache and round glasses  – pushed him back down with extraordinary force and covered his mouth with a cloth. Soon, he flailed his arms around and the man released him. He could feel his eyes drooping and setting him to unconsciousness, and he could barely make out the words uttered just before he passed out.

“Experiment... failure... inject... serum.”

x

When he woke again, he found that his throbbing had subsided to a dull ache, and that the lighting in the room was not as bright as it had been when he was first awake.

“It must be evening,” he reasoned quietly.

Sitting up slowly, he looked down and noticed that his sleeve had been torn and he had little pricks along his arm. Thinking it to be nothing, he ignored his instinct and stood from the bed, stretching his arms above his head. The two people whom he had heard arguing before were not present, as far as he could tell, so he decided to move around the house and see what he could find. He had the nagging sensation that something was missing, that he was supposed to be somewhere, doing something, but he could not, for the life of him, remember what it was.

Dragging his feet across the unpolished linoleum floor, Connie exited the bedroom and descended the creaky stairs. He found himself in the kitchen and smiled when he found a plate of food resting on the counter. Thanking his luck, he approached the plate and made to start eating when a knock interrupted him. Panicking, he dropped down and scooted to the space available under the kitchen island.

“No, that's not possible. All test subjects are to be eliminated within the next week or so. Yes... the government is thinking of a small-scale bombing spree, disguised as terror attacks. No, we cannot evacuate the citizens – they are the danger. No – hey, I just fucking told you – you signed off on this, didn't you? Don't give me that moral bull shit – no, fuck YOU!” There was a slam heard somewhere, followed by the obvious sound of plastic shattering to pieces.

“Ah, damn it... that was a new one, too,” the gruff voice mumbled, walking around the island. Connie held his breath and watched as the man's footsteps stopped in front of the plate. He heard the fork clang onto the ceramic plate and mourned the loss of his food. Suddenly, the noise stopped, and the man placed the dish into the sink. Connie nearly sighed in relief when the man's footsteps faded away.

“What are you doing here, boy?”

Connie scrambled to get away from the man's big hands, his movements panicky and disoriented. However, his head throbbed at that moment and he was helpless as the man grabbed him and hoisted him over his shoulder. The man's eyes were a sickly shade of blue, and his rigid facial structure gave him a stern look. His hair was neatly parted at the centre, and dark rings gave him the impression of an insomniac.

“You shouldn't be sneaking out of bed and doing things you're not supposed to, boy. Don't you know what's out there? What if they came in and ate you up? I'd get in so much shit, and I would go to hell just to give you more hell.”

Connie looked around, eyes wide and breath short. Finally, he spotted a familiar bloody aluminium baseball bat and struggled in his captor's grip. He managed to kick his way out of the man's grip and stumbled to the bat. When he turned around, the man's eyes were wide and his fists tightly clenched. Connie noticed the knuckle braces stained with blood and shuddered in fear.

“It's your choice brat – come back here quietly or I'll kill you and feed you to the zombies out there.”

“Fat chance I'll die,” Connie rasped. He readied the bat and ignored the quivering in his legs. The adrenalin rushed through his veins and he nearly grinned at the welcomed sensation. God, he loved it when this happened.

“I hoped I'd be able to scare you, but I guess beating you to a pulp will help too. Screw the consequences.”

Connie swung before the man could even skin his shirt. The bat cracked the man's skull and sent him down. He was killed instantly, and his blood splattered across most of Connie's body. It was at times like these that Connie was thankful for his family baseball games. Connie didn't even blink – he was so desensitized to death that it no longer phased him, no matter what he killed or how he did it.

He dropped the bat and clutched his head in pain, gritting his teeth. Family... family! He had to find his family. Blinking, he grabbed the bat and stepped over the man, running over to the kitchen and peeking through the blinds. There were a few undead lounging about, but he could easily handle those. He only feared what the man had said over the phone – what was he talking about exactly? What did he mean by test subjects, and terror attacks? Just what was going on exactly?

Connie went out the backdoor and out into the yard, sidling along the bloodstained white picket fence and swallowing heavily at the piles of dead sitting on the grass. He could've been there, too, if he hadn't been lucky. Now he just had to find his family and find a way out of this hell.

x

“Of course, it was too dark to continue when I reached this point, so I decided to grab the safest place to spend the night, and here I am. I ended up twisting my ankle when I fell in, though, and I lost my baseball bat a while ago. I can't remember how I got here or if I saw anyone else on the way.”

“I don't fucking believe you.”

“What?”

“I said,” Ymir repeated slowly, as if Connie was testing her patience and she had to enunciate her words carefully for him to understand, “I don't fucking believe you.”

“And why the hell not?” Connie yelled indignantly. He was getting sick and tired of this bitch's attitude. All he wanted to do was grab his bat and slam her face in, though he was sure Krista would not appreciate that, and he liked her enough to respect her wishes.

“Ymir, you're being rude,” Krista interjected, “Connie's tired, so let him sleep and we'll talk more in the morning.”

“Oh, so now you're brave, huh? Why aren't you ever brave when it counts, and instead prefer defending others instead of defending yourself?” Ymir snapped, turning to Krista with fury in her eyes.

The blonde shifted her eyes away and grit her teeth, ignoring the shudder down her spine when another low moan echoed. “I don't want us to fight, and you keep provoking Connie.”

“He's been experimented on, it's so obvious what the hell is going on, but you're too caught up in your perfect little world to see that it's gone! Krista, wake up! This is reality, and if you don't catch up, it will leave you behind without a single care for you.”

“I know that! But you're too caught up in your own paranoia and insecurity to see that what you're doing is refusing help from someone who can give it to you!” Krista retorted.

“You know what? Fuck this, if you don't think this kid will wake up as a zombie tomorrow morning you're hopelessly deluded, and you'll die the second you step out there without me.”

Krista flinched and looked down, eyes tearing up. Connie frowned and glared at Ymir, who scoffed and rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the guilt clawing at her chest. Someone had to tell her, someone had to let her know that one could only trust themselves in a world where morals are non-existent and the laws shattered. Past experiences, previous bonds, old friendships... anything before the current disaster meant absolutely nothing, because people change in dire circumstances – Ymir knew Connie was not the same kid she saw at the batting cages when she skipped school. No, this was a boy who was growing steadily bloodthirsty as he searched for his family.

“I'm sorry,” Krista whispered, blinking rapidly. She lied down on the couch and curled up on her side, feeling the blunt sides of the screwdriver and knife press against her thigh. “I'm going to sleep now. Good night.”

“Good night,” Ymir responded stiffly.

“Good night,” Connie sighed, looking down to his lap. Was what Ymir said true? Was he turning into a zombie? He didn't know... but he could feel something stirring in his gut. He could feel his senses strengthening, his muscles growing stronger, his adrenalin lying dormant but present in his veins. A bitter taste invaded his mouth, but it didn't bother him much. No, Ymir was wrong – this was simply the aftermath of killing zombies all day. He was getting stronger, and soon he would see his family.

“You go to sleep, I'll take watch,” Ymir offered, her eyes unreadable. Her tone was emotionless, but Connie could sense a dangerous undertone – you try anything, and you're dead. The boy nodded and sat at the very end of the couch, curling up and closing his eyes. He could feel his muscles relaxing as he slowly evened out his breathing, and soon he was asleep.

Krista listened to Ymir move around, going to the fridge and pulling out a beverage before plopping down beside her and snapping it open. The blonde kept her eyes closed and suppressed any noises of surprise when she felt a hand smooth her hair down lightly. She heard a sigh and then the sound of someone slurping.

“She had to know,” Ymir reasoned to herself in a low voice, “she had to know that trusting me and trusting Connie is pointless, because we'll just end up stabbing each other in the back at the end.” Ymir removed her hand and stood up, but couldn't get any farther when Krista grabbed her wrist and sat up.

“Ymir,” she whispered, “I trust you.”

Ymir laughed huskily, pulling her wrist away. “That's a stupid choice, midget. I dunno if you've heard, but I'm not exactly a 'good influence' for you.”

“Weren't you the one who just said that my 'perfect world' is gone? What about you, are you still a bad influence?”

Ymir appeared to ponder over the question, but then snorted and walked away. “Yeah, I'm still a bad influence.”

“Where are you going?”

“To take a piss – there has to be a greasy bathroom around here somewhere.”

“What if it's too far?”

“I could piss in a bucket in front of you if you want. Would you like that?”

“...no.”

“That's what I thought. Now go back to sleep midget.”

Krista fidgeted but complied, curling up on her side and concentrating on falling asleep. She trusted Ymir, because the brunette hadn't given her a reason to distrust her. The fact that she went to great lengths to protect her and teach her the truths of the harsh world were proof enough for Krista – her own family hadn't accomplished in a decade what Ymir accomplished in just a few hours.

Thinking of her family made the blonde feel horrible, so she returned to her hopeless dreams of happier times. When Ymir returned, she found Krista and Connie sleeping, and decided to get it over and done with.

She grabbed a wrench and lifted it over Connie's head, prepared to smash his head in. Before she could kill him, a shot rang out from outside the shop, and she quickly rushed over to the door and pressed her ear to it. She could hear noises from the outside, but nothing related to-

Another shot rang out, followed by another, and another. She could now hear the sound of bodies hitting the ground, as well as the groans of the undead filtering through the heavy metal door. What was going on? Who was outside, and did they pose a threat to them? She heard the familiar rumble of a vehicle and grinned as an idea came to her. It was sketchy, but she could do it, and it would allow her to eliminate any other threats to her safety... and Krista's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	5. Chapter 5

After listening to the new ruckus outside and forming a shady plan, Ymir pushed off from the garage door and hurried over to see if Krista and Connie had heard anything. They were asleep, luckily, and hadn’t heard a thing. Great, that would make it easier.

Gun shots meant that whoever had arrived had weapons and the thud of bodies falling meant they knew how to use them. The idle sound of an engine also meant that they had a car. To Ymir’s right there was a car still suspended on that lift, but she had checked earlier and the thing’s battery was flat. It wouldn’t provide any use for them now, unless she could get out there and retrieve the other car’s battery. There hadn’t been any other cars in the area from what she had seen when she had sprinted them to safety. Not that she had really taken a good look around, but now she had an idea. When morning came around she would definitely take a good look at their surroundings and come up with a survival plan.

Where they were right now was secure and safe, it would be stupid to leave unless they had an even safer place to retreat to. At the moment they didn’t, so Ymir noted that they would need supplies when morning came. If she was lucky she could find a dirty magazine or two, something to keep her occupied to rid her of the boredom. Sitting around was not one of Ymir’s favourite pastimes.

Now with a goal in mind Ymir went over to where Connie had jumped out of the roof and glanced up. It was evident that there was no other way onto the roof. Going up top would offer the safest and most open field of vision, so Ymir had to figure out how to get up there.

“Goddamn, how?” she muttered to herself and spun around as she looked about at all of the tools available. Wonderfully enough she spotted a ladder leaning against a wall and went over to retrieve it. She brought it back and positioned it under the square hole in the roof where Connie had made his entrance.

Slowly she climbed the metal steps, eyes fixed on her goal. Someone as small as Krista would have never been able to climb in there alone without a hoist. Luckily Ymir was more than tall enough and only needed to straighten on the last step to be able to pull herself up and into the roof, where she followed a thin line of moonlight and found the hole in the roof Connie had squirmed through. How she managed to squeeze through there she would never know, but she did it and quickly grabbed a hold of the tiled roof to catch her balance.

Now out in the cool air and in the open, Ymir followed the sound of panicked yelling to the front of the building. There sat the car, a white truck in the parking lot right in front of the garage, stuck because of the pile of zombies chopped to pieces and mushed together underneath the front tires. The person inside of the car attempted to reverse but only succeeded in creating a forward shower of blood and gore. Sitting on the door through the open window and pointing a handgun was a beefy blonde guy, possibly their age.

Ymir heard a groan to the side and looked in the direction, discovering a fire escape attached to the side of the building. Just as quietly she snuck there and provided herself with a better view of the struggling survivors. It wasn’t yet clear how many there were, but Ymir could hear from the deep, panicked voice that the driver was also a young man, which made two guys so far.

“Bert, get this car moving!” the blonde man shouted in panic, shooting a few more rounds and hitting as many dead as he could right between the eyes.

“I’m trying Reiner but we’re stuck!” the guy in the driver’s side named ‘Bert’ responded just as panicked.

Reiner grunted in acknowledgment and pulled himself out of the car. He landed softly on his feet and fired a few more bullets at the closest dead. For once the beasts were shuffling, not at all in a hurry to catch their prey, but eager all the same with the way their dirty hands reached out and their blood stained jaws moved.

“What are you doing?!” Bert exclaimed in panic and scooted over closer to Reiner. Some of the dead had crowded around his side of the car, pressing against the glass and groaning against it.

“If the car won’t work we need to leave.” Reiner responded.

“But what about the supplies?!” Bert managed to climb out of the window too, despite his overly long frame. Well, if a muscled body like Reiner’s could fit through then Ymir supposed Bert would have had an easier time of it. Her ears also perked at the mention of supplies. Did they have food and weapons in that car?

They probably wouldn’t be interested in sharing, with the way the world had gone to shit. Ymir fully expected any survivor to kill her as easily as the dead would. People definitely changed when in extreme dire situations. She wasn’t willing to help, either. How did she know that these men wouldn’t just throw her to the dead as a means of distraction so that they could escape?

But on the other hand, helping them could secure those supplies for Ymir and Krista. Not Connie, she still didn’t trust that kid. A ball of anxiety knotted in her stomach when she realized she had left Krista alone in the garage with that boy. But she quickly shook out of the thought, not understanding why it bothered her so much.

If Connie did anything Krista was likely to scream or at least defend herself with either the knife or screwdriver.

“We can’t leave though, what about –?”

“We really don’t have time to talk about this Berthold, these things won’t wait. If we don’t find somewhere to go we’ll die tonight.”

Berthold swallowed and reached out to grab the back of Reiner’s shirt. He trembled badly and tried to calm his racing heart but he was feeling so much terror that it was impossible. The dead continued to shuffle towards them, groaning and staring with soulless white eyes.

Ymir narrowed her eyes slightly but otherwise did nothing else. She was hoping, with a lot of morbidity and a slight twinge of unease that the dead took these guys out. Taking a risk right now was too much, and helping them was out of the question.

But then something slammed into the lamppost to Ymir’s left and the light suddenly flickered to life. The pole was leaning to the side, away from Ymir, but the light was enough to cast her in a dim silver glow. She cursed softly under her breath.

“Hey!” Berthold exclaimed while tugging on Reiner’s shirt and pointing at Ymir. “Someone’s there!” He pulled Reiner with him and started towards Ymir, letting his blonde partner stick to his side and either shoot or knock the undead out of their way. They were hurrying, of course. “Help us!” Berthold called out in desperation. Ymir could hear the hope in his voice and ignored her urge to ignore them.

If she didn’t help them and they managed to escape this could turn around to bite her in the ass later on. They would remember her as the cold heartless bitch that sat idle and ignored their pleas. Ymir did not care for saving anyone – accept Krista, though she had yet to convince herself of a plausible reason – but she was smart enough to know that ignoring them would be the worst option.

They could shoot her in rage before being consumed by the dead, or they could return later on for revenge. Ymir couldn’t take that chance, and she also couldn’t kill them herself. She was not a killer.

Sighing and watching the boys run over while defending against the outstretched hands, Ymir walked down to the bottom of the fire escape and extended a hand. Luckily the lower ladder had been pulled up.

“Grab my hand!” she exclaimed. “I’ll pull you up!”

Berthold shuddered in relief and shoved Reiner in front of him. When they reached Ymir Berthold shoved him again and picked him up as best he could. Reiner sputtered in surprise but Ymir had grabbed his hand and was pulling him up.

“Berthold!” Reiner immediately reached down towards the tall brunette once he was safe and took his hand while Ymir grabbed the other. As they began to pull him up one of the dead suddenly wrapped its arms around his waist and sunk its teeth into his side. “NO!”

Berthold cried out in pain and surprise but forced himself not to look down at the thing still sunken into his skin.

“It’s just one, we can get it off!” Reiner bellowed, tugging at Berthold but unable to pull him up with the added weight. Ymir wasn’t pulling at all and simply stared down into Berthold’s terrified eyes.

He was bitten, and she could no longer save him. They didn’t know if a bite was a means of infection, but the chance was too great.

“What are you doing?” Reiner yelled in panic. More of the dead suddenly appeared and joined their peer, latching onto a section of Berthold’s legs and biting. None of them tore or moved, they simply refused to unlatch their jaws and waited for their prey to fall. Around them more dead groaned sickeningly and Ymir shuddered.

Berthold did not want to die, especially not by being eaten alive, but he understood the look in Ymir’s eyes. It had happened so quick that his mind still raced for some type of solution, for some kind of hope, but his heart knew.

He would never be able to tell the young man that he loved dearly of his feelings. He would never stand a chance of experiencing true love with him or building a life with him. Berthold’s grip slackened and Ymir felt it.

She sighed softly and ignored Reiner’s panicked yelling. He continued in his useless attempts to pull Berthold up, but it wasn’t working and now tears were threatening to spill.

“Come on, help me!” Reiner pleaded with Ymir. “We don’t know if a bite will kill him!”

Ymir didn’t turn to him, but she took a breath. “The fact that we don’t know is what’s scarier,” she commented softly. She glanced into Berthold’s eyes again, and then she let go.

Berthold’s hand slipped from Reiner’s sweaty palm and the tall brunette fell onto his back, a horde of the dead now covering his body and convulsing together as if they had turned into one giant beast, feasting in satisfaction, and he screamed.

Reiner turned to Ymir, eyes wide with shock and rage.

“Oops, my hand slipped.” Ymir said simply.

Reiner swallowed hard and resisted the urge to punch her, but instead he jumped down and started to throw the rotting bodies off of his best friend.

“Get off of him!” Reiner yelled, pulling another off and shooting it in the face. He managed to shove enough of them off to get a hold of Berthold’s shoulder and pull him out of the others’ grasp. They groaned in response and took a few seconds to register that the body had disappeared.

While the things were distracted Reiner dragged Berthold away for as long as he could until he bumped into their car. He slumped down, heart pounding in his ears.

“Reiner.” Berthold mumbled brokenly. His head rested on Reiner’s lap and he lifted a bloody hand to caress the blonde man’s cheek. “Since I’m going to die, I want to let you know that I l-love you.” He gasped loudly when a breeze stung his open flesh. There were a lot of chunks missing from his legs and he was losing blood fast.

Reiner stared wide eyed into Berthold’s face and released a shattered sob. “Bert,” he leaned over and pressed their forehead together while holding Berthold’s hand against his cheek. “I love you too. I’ve always loved you. I’m sorry.”

Berthold managed to chuckle softly and cringed when the action caused him pain. “I’m sorry that you are here because of me.”

Reiner shook his head, tears dripping steadily from his chin. His normally stoic face contorted in agony. He could hear the dead walking towards them, groaning in anticipation, but all Berthold could hear was his fading heartbeat.

“This isn’t such a bad way to go, you know.” Berthold commented and tightened his hold on Reiner’s cheek. His grip wasn’t firm at all and felt as weak as a simple touch.

Reiner decided not to reply. Berthold’s breathing became shallow and his hand fell from Reiner’s face. The blonde released a giant sob and lifted his head to look at Berthold, his friend and first love.

His eyes were half open, a soft and sad smile left on his lips, but he was definitely fading, if alive at all. Reiner leaned down once more but pressed his lips to Berthold’s instead. They were warm and soft, softer than he had ever imagined.

As more tears slipped down his face and dropped onto Berthold’s skin, Reiner lifted his gun and pressed the muzzle against his own temple. He focused on the fading heat of Berthold’s lips, of the agony and love ripping at his chest.

The moment Berthold’s heart grew still, Ymir looked away and Reiner pulled the trigger.

XxX

Ymir decided that nothing could be done about fetching the supplies at the moment. Her stomach also churned painfully, because of what she didn’t know – or didn’t want to acknowledge, so she headed back inside and returned the ladder to leaning against the wall.

Surprisingly Krista hadn’t woken from the noise outside. How was that even possible? Maybe she felt more at ease that someone she knew had appeared, or something. Ymir still didn’t trust him though, and gritted her teeth when the bald kid turned to her with a suspicious glare.

While Krista hadn’t woken, he had.

“I heard gunshots,” he said.

Ymir shrugged. “I didn’t hear anything.”

Connie looked up to where he had watched Ymir climb in from the roof. He lifted a hand and pointed. “So where did you disappear to?”

Again Ymir shrugged. “I decided to get some fresh air.” She waved her hand in dismissal and walked over to the couch, but paused before she sat down. “But I don’t have to fucking explain myself to you, baldy.” She sneered his way. “While you’re up stay on guard, and if you try anything I will fucking kill you in a heartbeat.” Ymir dropped down onto the couch, on her back, but curled her legs so that she wouldn’t lie on Krista. Not that she minded, but Krista would have.

Connie watched the brunette with clenched fists. A vein popped in his neck but he held his tongue and counted to ten while his thundering heart calmed and his anger eased. “Whatever,” he decided to throw in response and headed towards the bland and dirty bathroom Ymir had discovered earlier. “But if the dead break in don’t expect me to rescue you.” he added. “Or wake you up.” he muttered to himself.

Ymir only snorted to herself and shifted onto her side. She shivered lightly and wished that she had a blanket. 

A normal person would have been traumatized after watching two people die. Ymir, of course, wasn’t a normal person. Her realism often led her to act cold towards others. She did not know the two from outside and therefore expended no care for them. The fleeting moment in which she would have saved them had only been for her own benefit in the end. What she could do for a reward. Anyone else would have simply used her just as quickly, and trust came late if ever at all.

Ymir trusted no one, hardly even herself. Why she had even saved Krista was still a damn mystery, and why she was allowing a stranger with a shady story to remain in their safe hideout was beyond her.

For now Ymir closed her eyes and grit her teeth as she tried to rid her head of the images. Her joy had been short lived. Ymir was realistic, but she was not completely devoid of emotion. It was only a matter of convincing herself that she didn’t care, and feeling numb shortly after.

As her chest eased of anxiety, her mind slipped into unconsciousness that was thankfully devoid of dreams.

XxX

When morning came Ymir woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. The disturbed feelings from the previous night had dissipated and left only their memory behind. When the brunette opened her eyes and groggily grumbled as she rubbed a hand over her face and stretched, she heard a sound that sent a strange tingle through her heart.

Krista was laughing, holding her hands over her mouth to keep her volume down, while Connie laughed with her. They were sitting by the garage door, backs pressed against it. Connie had been relaying a funny tale of the past week to keep Krista’s mind off of the current situation. Since waking Krista had been a mess of anxiety, not knowing what they would do from there or how they could possibly survive.

Ymir remained on the couch where she was and pretended that was still asleep.

“I can’t believe you did that Connie.” Krista commented and playfully punched his shoulder. “Poor Sasha.”

Connie chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck and grinning broadly. “Hey, she asked for it!” he defended himself.

Krista suddenly grew solemn. “I wonder if Sasha and the others are okay.”

Connie’s grin deflated and he sighed. “Look, they’re with Levi. If anything they’re more at risk of his wrath than any of these dead bastards. They were headed somewhere safe when I stupidly decided to head off on my own. Don’t stress it Krista, really.”

Krista smiled faintly, her worry not taken care of but at least her spirits had risen. “Thanks Connie.”

“Maybe if you want we can try to find them.” Connie suggested. Since last night he had been thinking of ways to get them out of there. Specifically, of getting himself and Krista back to the others. His own stupidity had nearly cost him his life, but it had at least led him to his friend who everyone probably assumed was dead. If he could bring her back then he wouldn’t get so much of a scolding and he would save someone dear to him. He also did not like Ymir one bit, and was hoping to convince Krista to secretly leave with him.

“How would we get there?” Krista asked softly, eyes wide. The thought of returning to her friends was a wonderful one, but she quivered in fear at the journey they would need to sail to get there.

“Well, I could find a car nearby and we could drive there. I think I have a good idea of where they went, and I’m sure Levi would be happy to have his two students back.”

“Two?”

“You know, more manpower to keep everyone alive.”

“No,” Krista furrowed her brows “Wouldn’t Ymir come with us?”

Connie sighed. “I don’t like her Krista. She’s a stranger. Why don’t we get out of here while she’s asleep and make it back to the others?”

From the couch Ymir grabbed at the fabric of her shirt over her chest and bit down on her tongue to keep from rising and swearing. Of course she couldn’t trust anyone, like she had told herself for many years, and Krista since this dystopia started. Now Krista would run off with that moron and get herself killed.

The thought pained Ymir, to be left alone, but she quickly shook it off and simply curled into a ball on her side. Connie was right. Ymir was a stranger. Krista would be better off going back to the people she knew and loved. Ymir didn’t even know why she had saved Krista in the first place, so it wasn’t like she actually cared about the blonde. It wouldn’t be a blow if she left.

If only Ymir could get herself to feel that way, as much as she believed it.

“No.” Krista said sternly. She looked up and met Connie’s surprised eyes. “I will not leave Ymir behind. Yes, she’s mean at first, but she saved me more than once when she really didn’t have to. I can’t think why, but she did, and I owe her more than my life. I would love to return to the others Connie, but I won’t go if Ymir doesn’t come with me.” The blonde crossed her arms over her chest and set her face in determination.

Connie balled his hands into fists and mentally cursed the brunette, who was still secretly listening.

Ymir’s heart was beating fast, doing strange flips and her chest felt warmer than usual. Why did Krista care about her like this, so suddenly, when she had never even fucking noticed Ymir walk by at school? Ymir would always notice her, and she would always frown when she did.

“So what, she saved you. She doesn’t seem like she cares anyway. Trust me Krista, Levi wouldn’t like her there. She’s hostile and unpredictable. I don’t trust her with you. How do you even know that she won’t suddenly change her mind and toss you out like dog food?”

Krista started to tremble in anger. “I trust her.” she said strongly. “I don’t know her yet, but _I trust her_ , Connie. My heart and my gut tell me that she wouldn’t do anything bad to me. You probably wouldn’t understand. I'm not changing my mind.”

Connie huffed under his breath and threw his hands up. “Fine! If you’re that determined, then stay with her.” He stood up and headed towards the ladder.

“Where are you going?” Krista called after him.

“To the roof, where your precious Ymir was last night. Maybe you should ask her about that. I’ll be back.” He placed the ladder under the opening and then climbed up and disappeared into the roof.

Krista watched him with puzzlement. Had Ymir been on the roof? But why?

Feeling saddened and anxious all over again thanks to the downfall of the conversation that had originally been started to lift her mood, Krista stood up and went over to Ymir. She spied the brunette now on her side, breathing evenly, and assumed that she was still asleep. The blonde sat down next to her and released a long sigh.

Krista looked down at Ymir’s face and couldn’t help the flutter in her heart. It wasn’t the first time she had felt it, but now that the world had been wiped out and everything had been brought into focus, Krista could finally feel it. Hesitantly she reached out and brushed a lock of hair off of Ymir’s cheek. Her skin was warm. Blue eyes travelled over every freckle, and Krista smiled softly.

“Why did you save me, Ymir?” she asked softly under her breath, not intending for anyone to hear.

She removed her touch from Ymir’s cheek and straightened, back to Ymir. There were so many worries weighing on her shoulders that it was a wonder she hadn’t started hunching. They needed food, so where would they get it? Was there help out there? Would they just stay here forever? What if the place became unsafe, where would they go? Krista started to breathe fast as her anxiety grew and her panic took over.

As if sensing it, and honestly nearly sending Krista into a pull panic attack, Ymir suddenly reached out and wrapped her long fingers around Krista’s wrist. When the blonde looked behind her she locked gazes with Ymir’s intense brown eyes. There was something in those eyes, an emotion, and Krista’s heart thundered as she panicked that Ymir had heard what she had said or felt her invading touch.

But Ymir released her warm grip and sat up on the couch. “Morning,” she said softly and ran a hand through her hair.

Krista struggled to find her voice and simply stared at Ymir like a deer caught in headlights. “G-g-g…” was all she managed to utter.

Ymir’s eyebrow lifted and she smirked. “Oh? Does my messy hair and sexy appearance take your breath away?” She wiggled her eyebrows and then leaned in close to Krista’s face. “Or did something terrifying happen while I was asleep?” She grinned broadly, brushing noses with Krista and making the blonde panic even worse.

“N-no-no that’s not!” Krista quickly scooted away from the intimate position and waved her hands frantically. “I was just… just… wasn’t…”

Ymir laughed loudly and pointed at Krista’s flushed, embarrassed face. “Relax squirt, I was fucking with you.” She sat up and yawned loudly. “Where’s badly?” she asked as if she didn’t know.

“He went onto the roof.” Krista responded.

“Oh, great. I need to talk to him.” Ymir stood up from the couch and made her way towards the ladder.

“Wait!” Krista exclaimed, arm outstretched. Ymir paused and turned to her, eyebrow raised.

“Mm?”

“H-he said you went onto the roof last night. Did you?”

“I did.” Ymir responded. She turned and started climbing the ladder. Krista hurried more questions at her but Ymir ignored them and carried on to find Connie.

XxX

Soft footsteps barely made any sound as two figures darted across rooftops, taking extra care not to make their presence known. The taller figure led, guiding the shorter one towards a grocery shop. They landed soundlessly atop the roof and then entered through the door that was thankfully unlocked and easy to open. When they dropped into the room both of them froze and surveyed the area for any walking dead. There was none, so Ymir lowered her tense arms and released a breath.

“It’s empty like I thought. Find a backpack and then fill it with as much shit as possible. We don’t know when those things will notice us and break the door down.” Ymir commanded and set off to follow her own command.

Connie glared at the back of her head but followed the order too, hating that he had to.

After finding the boy on the roof Ymir and Connie had had a heated discussion. Ymir continuously threatened to toss him to the dead if he so much as lifted a hand towards Krista or suggested that she leave again. She then went on to heatedly explain that they needed supplies. The car in the front of the building – she explained the story to him, though excluding the two guys that had died – wasn’t the highest priority right now. They needed to figure out how to distract the dead before attempting to retrieve what were hopefully food supplies in the vehicle. Ymir also explained that if they could retrieve the battery she could use it to replace the old one in the car in the garage. If that worked then they at least had a working mode of transport, if the thing had any fuel. They could always siphon that off of the truck too.

But for now, as Ymir had explained, they had no water left. There was scarce food, but water was extremely important. If they could loot the grocery store close by and get the needed supplies that could support them for at most the next week, they could rest and plan their survival without having to venture away from the garage again.

Connie had begrudgingly agreed, not stupid enough to argue with her logic simply because of his dislike of her. They had then returned to Krista to relay the same message to her.

“Why me?!” Connie had exclaimed when Ymir had corrected him and told him that he would in fact accompany her in the outing. When Ymir had simply glared, he shut up.

There was absolutely no way she would take Krista with her, but no way would she leave Krista alone with Connie. Therefore the only solution had been to take the boy with her. If he tried anything she wouldn’t hesitate to kick his ass, but for now he was behaving.

However, there was only a certain amount of time Connie could take Ymir verbally shoving him around as he tried to grab things as fast as possible before he snapped.

“Listen here, bitch.” Connie smacked the shelf in front of him and straightened his back. “I don’t trust you. I’m only following this plan of yours for Krista and myself.”

Ymir, where she had been looking over the magazine rack – close to the racy section of pornographic material and nude women – turned and looked over her shoulder.

“I don’t fucking care.” she informed him, voice bored. She turned back to what she had been doing and decided on the raunchiest magazine there. It wasn’t as hardcore as she had hoped, but it was something.

“You know, I have half a mind to fucking–”

A crash interrupted Connie’s heated words and made them both freeze and lift their weapons in front of them.

“Did you hear that?” Connie asked, already feeling the adrenalin re-surge through his veins, his heart pumping it throughout his body.

Ymir simply nodded and slowly started inching towards the back of the store where the sound had come from. She stepped closer and started rounding the counter and then paused when movement caught her eye.

Out of nowhere hands lunged out and grabbed Ymir around the neck, pushing her back and making her crash into the wall. Terrified, living eyes stared wide-eyed into Ymir’s and the hands around her throat shook.

“Who are you?” Ymir asked calmly. She dropped her wrench onto the floor and slowly lifted her hands as a sign of surrender. The boy pinning her to the wall swallowed loudly and looked over to Connie. “Drop it.” Ymir told him, and Connie shook his head.

“I’m not leaving myself unarmed.” he stated firmly.

Ymir resisted a snarl. “Connie, fucking _drop it_.” The stone cold fury in Ymir’s eyes made Connie pause and take a breath. He could also see an urgent message there, and realized what Ymir was trying to tell him. Slowly he crouched down and put his weapon down on the floor. When he stood he copied Ymir’s sign of surrender and took a few steps back.

“Unarmed, see?” Connie said calmly.

“We aren’t a threat, so you can relax.” Ymir said to the boy frantically glancing between her and Connie. He seemed to deliberate over it for a long while, switching to look at the store doors every few minutes. “You can let me go.” Ymir said sternly, though not threateningly.

Finally the boy released her and stumbled back. He pressed his hands to the counter and released a long, shaky breath.

“Jesus, I’m sorry.” he said shakily. “I’m scared out of my mind. I wasn’t sure if you were dead or if you would kill me.”

Ymir glanced uneasily at the door, at the horde of the dead pressed up against the glass, and spotted the white car in the parking lot. She quickly looked away.

“I came here with two buddies last night. I was supposed to run in and get supplies but then a whole bunch of those dead things blocked the door. I managed to lock the doors and barricade them, but I couldn’t get out. And then last night my friends, they… they died. I heard gunshots and the car is still there so… I think…” His shoulders shook with the force of his emotions, and then he turned back to Ymir with pleading eyes. “Please, take me with you. I won’t make it alone.”

“Of course!” Connie exclaimed.

“No.” Ymir immediately responded. The boy deflated and Connie puffed up in anger.

“And why the hell not?” Connie demanded.

“He is a liability. It is enough that Krista is paralyzed by her fear. We don’t know this guy and we can’t trust him.”

“I don’t care! I won’t leave another human being behind. He’s coming back with us.” Connie picked his weapon up from the ground and approached Ymir, staring defiantly into her furious brown eyes. “I swear if you try to stop me…” he warned.

Ymir’s hands twitched as she attempted to set Connie on fire with the mere force of her glare. Eventually, though, she grunted a curse and snatched her bag and weapon from the ground. “He is your responsibility then. If he fucks up it’s on you. Don’t expect me to save either of you.” She shouldered her bag – that was swollen with supplies and threatening to burst – and made her way onto the roof. She didn’t even wait for the other two to catch up.

Connie sighed and turned to the boy with a giant grin. “She’s a bitch but I refuse to take her crap.” he announced proudly. “By the way, I’m Connie.” He held his hand out.

“Jean.” the boy said and shook his hand. He smiled gratefully and then glanced nervously at the store doors once more. “I think we should go, that glass isn’t going to hold much longer.”

Connie glanced over too and nodded. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here.” He shouldered his own bag and tugged Jean along. “Thankfully we bumped into you buddy, and you should be glad that I was with.”

Jean just nodded, still mostly in shock.

XxX

After returning Ymir had moodily dumped the bag onto the counter and went over to the car to fiddle around with the mechanics. When Krista asked her what was wrong, she told her to leave her alone.

“But Ymir…” Krista put a hand on the upset brunette’s shoulder, simply worried about her, but it was roughly shrugged off.

“I said leave me the hell alone Krista. I’m in no mood to play parent.”

Krista swallowed the hurt but nodded. “Okay, sorry.” She retreated and went over to the ladder to wait for Connie. Ymir glanced over at her, slight guilt masking her face and enraging her more.

Why the hell did Krista make her feel guilty?

“Incoming!” Connie shouted and then jumped down into the room. He landed on his feet and then turned quickly to catch the bag tossed down at him. “Need any help?” he called up.

“Nah, I’m fine!” Jean responded and seconds later appeared from the roof.

Krista turned to Connie in surprise and pointed at the newcomer clambering down the ladder. “Who is that?” There was a tinge of worry in her voice.

“Someone we rescued from the store. He’s a nice guy, so don’t worry about him.”

When Jean had straightened he turned to Krista, held a hand out and smiled. “Hi, I’m Jean. Thank you for helping me out. If it wasn’t for Connie I would have probably stayed in that shop until something found and killed me.”

Krista immediately took to his kind smile and gently shook his hand. “Oh, no! I’m glad we can help. I hope you weren’t there for too long.”

Connie turned and grinned cockily at Ymir. The brunette simply snorted and returned to messing with the inside of the car.

“Are you hungry Jean? I’m Krista by the way.”

Jean nodded enthusiastically. “Despite being locked up in a place with food, I haven’t eaten at all.”

Krista smiled and tugged him along. “There’s some canned food in the fridge.”

Jean happily followed but glanced up at Ymir, his smile fading and his eyes narrowing. He agreed with Connie; he didn’t like her. Hopefully he could get her alone and ask her a few things, but for now he would avoid her and accept his saviours’ kindness.

After opening a can for Jean and giving it to him, Krista opened one for herself and Ymir and went over to the brunette to give it to her. Jean and Connie sat down on the couch in the meantime, falling into easy conversation.

“Here,” Krista said softly. She sat down beside Ymir and held the can out towards her.

Ymir looked at it and then returned to scanning inside of the tool box.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Krista asked with concern. She eventually lowered her hand when Ymir continued to ignore her. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you Ymir, but I don’t like seeing you upset. What happened? You can talk to me, you know. No matter what Connie might have said or done to upset you, I know you aren’t bad.” She hesitantly reached out and touched a finger to Ymir’s wrist. “Eat, please?”

Ymir clenched her jaw but quickly snatched the can and set it down beside her. “Thanks.” she muttered softly, looking away to hide the slight blush across her cheeks.

“Great!” Krista beamed brightly, happy that Ymir listened to her, and proceeded to eat while sitting silently beside her hero. She felt content just sitting beside Ymir, more so than by the other two. Krista didn’t know why, but something about Connie was different. His hostile behaviour towards Ymir scared her, and the newcomer made her wary. If she had learnt anything from Ymir, it was that you really couldn’t trust anyone.

“Seriously?!” Connie suddenly exclaimed loudly and stood up, his empty can cluttering to the ground.

“Connie, what’s wrong?” Krista asked.

“Jean, tell them what you told me.” Connie urged.

Jean rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “My friends, Reiner and Berthold,” at the mention of their names, Ymir inwardly cringed, “and I heard over a radio broadcast that in city Sina there is a safe camp. Some people we were with said that the whole city is enclosed by walls, as if they had been prepared for this from the start. The broadcast aired yesterday morning but hasn’t repeated, and it said that if anyone can get there they should. There’s safety, food and water, shelter, but most of all, civilization.”

Connie clapped his hands. “That’s it! We should go there!”

Krista looked to Ymir who hadn’t looked away from her busy hands. “We’ll need to get this car running then,” she spoke up un-expectantly. “To do that we need the battery from the car outside.” She missed the hard look Jean sent her way, but she felt it.

“Well?” Connie asked. “The sooner we get that car running the sooner we can leave!” He sighed heavily, a new hope building in his chest.

“Ymir, are you really okay with this?” Krista asked softly and scooted closer to Ymir.

Ymir just shrugged.

“But before we do anything,” Jean spoke up, voice void and eyes hard as stone. “I would like to know how my friends died, Ymir.”

Ymir stiffened, but did not turn around.

“What do you mean?” Krista looked from Jean to Ymir, puzzled. “Ymir?”

Connie knew that he had been suspicious for a reason, and shared a look with Jean. They had talked on their way back.

Ymir lifted her head, unafraid of their accusations and prepared to perfectly lie her way out of suspicion. “I didn’t do anything.” she said in a cold snarl. She stood and turned her burning eyes to both of them. “And you can’t prove that I did anything at all.”

XxX

A young boy stumbled along, blood staining his skin and clothes, even the freckles along his cheeks. His normally neat black hair stuck up in odd angles, sticky with dried blood. He held onto his aching arm and pressed on, determined not to pass out or fall.

He spotted movement up ahead and wondered if he should panic or feel elated. When he got closer and saw unfamiliar black hair, but thankfully living eyes, he stumbled forward towards the girl who rushed forward and caught him with a cringe.

“Annie!” Mikasa exclaimed. Annie rushed to her side and narrowed her eyes at the boy in Mikasa’s arms. “Get some water, we need to check his injuries before we do anything.”

Annie nodded and went into the store they had just visited to find a bottle of water. When she returned Mikasa had laid the boy on the ground on his back and started searching his skin for any bites or scratches.

“Don’t worry,” the boy said, “the blood isn’t mine and I got these injuries after falling down a hill.”

Mikasa nodded at him but continued to wash the blood off of his skin to inspect for any suspicious wounds. While she did this, Annie crouched down by him and narrowed her eyes further.

“What’s your name?”

“Marco,” the boy responded. “I’m Marco.”

Mikasa finished inspecting him and concluded that he had been truthful and there were no worrying injuries. He had bad bruises and scrapes on his legs but the worst was his broken arm.

“Annie, let’s take him back to Levi.” Mikasa announced.

Annie didn’t argue and helped the black haired girl pull Marco onto his feet. They each pulled one of his arms over their shoulders and then started the walk back.

While they walked, Marco struggled to stay awake. His only prying thought was of his boyfriend, Jean, who he had lost in the struggle to escape the dead. He only hoped he was okay, and that he would see him again soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	6. Chapter 6

Humming filled the air as a car sped through the masses of undead, running over bodies and speeding past barricades of groaning, hungry flesh-eaters. The driver wiped a handkerchief over his forehead and grit his teeth as he checked on his charge in the rear view mirror. There was a man who sat in the back of the car, eyes passively looking out over the rotted scenery and hands resting in his lap. He had round glasses and a thin moustache. Many called him a miracle worker, a saviour, but he preferred the name Doctor Jaeger.

His expression was grim as he surveyed the chaos and destruction through the tinted window. His only hope was to make it to Sina City in time to provide a formula for an antidote. He had managed to work on one after having experimented on the boy with the baseball bat – the boy had been bitten at some point but had not managed to notice, which gave the doctor plenty to work with. He took samples, formulated hypotheses, and brewed his own antidote that would be able to counter the infection before it took control of the motor abilities. He had injected some of the serum into the boy, but he did not want to take a chance and observe the after effects – he needed to get this to the head of the government before it was too late. He prayed that the bodyguard he'd hired managed to keep the boy safe.

The driver he had chosen to bring him to the wall of the city was an exceptional driver, and firmly believed in the doctor – after all, this was the same man who had saved his family from a deadly disease. Hannes was not a man who forgot his manners, and since his family had already been delivered to the inner walls of the city, he felt it his duty to bring the doctor there as well.

“Doctor,” Hannes began, “aren't you worried about your son? Eren?” Hannes had known Eren since the boy was as high as his knee.

Grisha Jaeger pressed his lips together and squeezed his eyes shut. When he reopened them, Hannes noticed from the cracked mirror that the doctor had emptied his eyes of emotion. “He'll be fine,” Doctor Jaeger answered quietly, “he has his friends with him.”

Hannes nodded stiffly and concentrated on getting across a small bridge. There were more hordes reaching for them, and it was only thanks to his amazing driving skills that they hadn't toppled over yet. Only a few more kilometres to go, and they would be safely within the walls. He couldn't wait to see his family again – he had a little girl with the most adorable smile...

“Hannes! In front of you!” Grisha shouted, eyes wide. He gripped the suitcase with the cure for humanity against his chest, his breathing coming out in short, shallow exhalations. The largest concentration of the undead lay before them, and only Hannes could steer them in the right direction.

The Blonde man cursed and made a sharp turn. He had to find a detour now, because the shortest route to Sina was now blocked by what they were trying to get rid of. He floored the gas and cut across a small group of undead, flinching when blood splashed on his windshield. He gagged when he spotted torn muscle on the hood of the car. He activated the wipers and sprayed water across the front. His vision temporarily blinded by cleaning the spurts of blood, he failed to see the pile of burning bodies just a few metres away from where he was speeding.

The car rolled on top of the pile and flipped over, the tires humming in the air as Hannes released the gas. It was too late, however, and the car screeched on its side, the asphalt scraping against the metal and shedding it off slowly. All the windows shattered when the car finally flipped over on the top, and a large piece of glass struck Hannes in his neck, straight into an artery, ensuring a painful death. The suitcase slipped from Doctor Jaeger's hands and out the window, landing at the feet of a passing zombie.

“Hannes,” Grisha groaned, “Hannes are you okay?” When his driver failed to respond, Grisha cursed for the second time in his life and unclasped his seat belt. He slowly crawled out the window and ignored the shards of window digging into his palms. His hair was dishevelled and his glasses broken and discarded in the car. All around him, the undead groaned and limped forward. None of that mattered to Grisha, however – he had to get the antidote to Sina at all costs.

When he finally stood, he noticed that the suitcase rested at the feet of a rotted, living corpse. His eyes widened in horror when its maggot-filled foot crushed the suitcase and therefore the vial containing the only hope for a cure. Doctor Jaeger backed away slowly when the monster turned to him, a hunger burning in its eye sockets. He swallowed nervously and climbed to the top of the flipped car, balancing on it carefully.

Slowly, another horde formed and they pushed against the car. A few of them piled at the driver's side and pulled Hannes out, already feasting on his body. Grisha threw up on the side and wiped the bile from the side of his mouth with his sleeve. It was hopeless, he was done for.

Resigned to his fate, the doctor refused to allow the undead to take his life. He pulled a pocketknife from the folds of his coat and put it to his throat. Just as he made a bloody arc, he saw something that made his blood run cold before it spilled.

He saw the mother of his only son staring at him with soulless eyes and a hunger for his flesh.

x

Annie and Mikasa helped Marco limp up the steps of the abandoned apartment complex and through the dusty halls. He was severely injured, and needed medical treatment as soon as possible. However, in their haste, they had left their tracks noticeable and the entrance slightly open rather than fully shut.

The girls brought the freckled boy to their base and set him down in front of Levi, who was busy organizing an escape route to another building. Their location was not compromised just yet, but it never hurt to have a back-up plan. Levi wore a light jacket over his frame, his arms outside the sleeves and his hands reading over a report Armin wrote on their current supplies.

 

The blonde genius sat next to him and tugged at his collar nervously. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, a foreboding feeling, and he could sense his breathing get short every time he looked out the window at the mass of undead tearing at the muscles of another victim. So far, they'd been lucky – in the last day or so they had been here, they only lost one student, and that was due to him running off in a fit of anger after a quip with Levi. The poor boy hadn't lasted a second outside, and it was Armin who saw him get eaten.

Levi looked up from his papers and stared at the guest. He narrowed his eyes at Mikasa and Annie and demanded an explanation.

“Sir, we found him dying out while searching for supplies,” Mikasa replied tonelessly, “we couldn't leave him. He was not bitten, we checked.”

“I didn't mean that!” Levi thundered furiously, “I meant, why the fuck are you not treating his wounds?”

Annie and Mikasa blinked at the same time and turned to each other with similarly bored expressions. They sighed collectively and hoisted Marco up, bringing him to the bathroom. The black-haired girl called for Eren to help her, and the door shut behind them as they tended to the newest addition to their group.

The former teacher clicked his tongue and scowled down at his bruised hands. Seeing Marco alive gave him hope, that out there something else existed that could help them. If Marco had been around town, he could provide information for him that would be otherwise impossible to obtain without sacrificing other students

With that thought in mind, Levi turned to Armin and asked for his opinion.

“He could have information on what's going on out there,” Armin agreed, “but at the same time he could have nothing. He would just be an extra hand to help.”

“And another mouth to feed,” a random student grumbled wearily as they passed by. Levi stood up and swiftly backhanded the same student, sending him stumbling to the wall. The teen looked up angrily but cowered at the cold glare Levi directed to him.

“Shut the fuck up,” he snarled, “and I'd better not hear you talking about your comrades like that again, or I'm throwing you out for _them_ to eat.”

The boy nodded hurriedly and fled to the kitchen to complain to his other friends about how unfair Levi was. Slowly, steadily, there were two camps forming in the group – one that hated Levi, and another that admired him. Some had even preferred to take Eren as their leader rather than the stoic teacher, because Eren went out on the fields for supplies and helped all the teens with their chores. He was an excellent leader, and Armin could see how he could end up conflicting with Levi's authority.

Mikasa and Annie were also rising to be leaders, though they worked better together than apart. Annie provided logical ideas and Mikasa delivered them, using her own hidden charm to raise the morale of the group and encouraging them to take on difficult tasks. If Levi were to die, Armin summarized, then Eren, Annie and Mikasa would be able to succeed him.

The trio exited the bathroom then, a tired Marco limping with them to where Levi sat. His arm was in a makeshift cast, and he had bandages all over his body along with a fresh pair of clothes. The dirt and blood were washed from his face and hair, and he looked much more innocent without them. However, he still retained the look in his eye that reminded Levi of soldiers who had seen horrors beyond the comprehension of mankind.

“Who are you?” Levi immediately asked when Marco sat down. Annie left to help with putting away the supplies they had fetched from their outing, and Sasha bounded over to help her after finishing her chores. Other students, who had taken to playing with a deck of cards they had found in a drawer, came by and watched Levi speak with Marco.

“My n-name is Marco,” the boy stuttered, “and I... I had other people with me, but we had to split up when we were attacked.”

“Who else was with you?” Levi pressed when the boy stopped speaking.

“My friends, Reiner and Berthold, and... um... my... m-my boyfriend, Jean.”

Levi rolled his eyes at the stutter and blush and ordered Armin to rearrange their attendance sheet. He harshly yelled at the other teens to quiet their snickers and leaned forward across the table. Marco felt his blood run cold at the ruthlessness in Levi's eyes – if you fuck with me, I'll slit your throat.

“This is an important question,” Levi continued lowly, “do you have any information on the happenings around town?”

Marco blinked and looked down, thinking hard for a moment. He frowned and tried to remember something Jean had said, something about a radio broadcast announcing a safe haven.

“Sina City!” Marco gasped, shooting up, “we were headed for Sina, but we got side-tracked.”

“What's in Sina?” Levi demanded.

“A safe camp, for all the survivors. There's a huge wall around the city, and all the survivors are allowed to go there to stay safe. Jean heard a PSA on the radio and told me, but I didn't remember until now...”

“Sina, huh?” Levi muttered, “We could try to get there, but how? We have too many people to take in a car, and I haven't seen a bus in decent condition since leaving the school...”

Around him, teens murmured and whispered in excited tones, hoping to find refuge in a place like Sina City, a place rumoured to be so safe some say it was guarded by grand titans fighting for humanity. Armin sighed and lowered his head, knowing that he was right all along – they needed to split up, and he wondered if Levi would do it or ignore his advice again.

The short man extended a hand out to Marco and shook hands with him briefly, leaning back and crossing his arms. “Welcome to the survival group,” Levi smirked, “let's hope we can get you back to your boyfriend.”

Marco smiled shyly and thanked Levi, stumbling as he stood up. He spotted a few other boys grinning cheekily and turned away, allowing Eren to show him around and introduce him to the other teens. The tall boy gave a warm smile to welcome the newest member and slapped his back heartily.

“It's great to have you, Marco!” Eren laughed, “My name's Eren, and this is Annie, Mikasa, Sasha, Armin, Levi, Kate...”

x

Later that night, when Marco tossed and turned in his sleep, he woke suddenly with a gasp and sweat sliding down the side of his face. He had dreamed that Berthold and Reiner were eaten, and that Jean had saved him by pushing him out of the way and taking a slash across his chest. It disturbed him greatly, since it felt so real – it terrified him and he needed some fresh air.

Eren had explained how the teens worked, their curfews and their responsibilities. Since Marco had broken his arm, he would be restricted to the cooking and cleaning aspects and not allowed on the field. That suited the freckled boy just fine – he would prefer to be as far away from those monsters as much as possible.

The teen stood from his makeshift bedroll and tiptoed across the room. Right now, he needed to be away from these people to calm down. It made him feel dizzy to be around too many people and he wanted to think about what was to be done.

Marco limped across the room – his knee scrapes made walking a pain – and exited the base. He made sure to close it firmly before he left, as he did not want to compromise the safety of his comrades, and slid along the wall down the hall. Curiously enough, he reached the fire escape and sighed as he looked down.

He closed his eyes and thought about Jean – he missed him so much. And Berthold, as well as Reiner, were on his mind. They were his closest friends, and he hoped that Berthold would finally get the courage to confess to Reiner, or at least the other way around. Those two deserve to be with each other, Marco thought fondly, they get along so well...

A grunt tore him from his thoughts and he opened his eyes and stumbled back in shock. Peering above the railing, he saw that a hand was reaching through the door, and then the sound of deep moaning... Marco bit his lip to keep from screaming and crawled down the hall after falling in his haste. He had to let Levi know right away what was happening – it was crucial to get them out of here before the zombie attracted others and gathered them up.

He quickly shoved the door open and shouted for everyone to get up. “We need to get out of here right away!” Marco yelled, shaking all of the teens up. They groaned and complained and moaned, and it made Marco clench his teeth tightly to fight down the shudders of fear.

“There's a break-in! One of them found the fire escape door open!” Marco tried instead, finally getting the reaction he was looking for. All of the teenagers shot up and began to initiate their escape plan that Levi had concocted with Armin just a few hours before. They had practised several times until it stuck to their habits.

Levi quickly dressed and barked out orders. He made Annie and Mikasa stand guard outside the door, and commanded Sasha to inspect all of the packages and supply stocks – she had become the most handy of the group members, because she had knowledge of proper stacking methods and compressed stocking. The determined girl adjusted the straps on all of the students' bags – which had been acquired after raiding a school supply store – and packed away equal amounts of food and water in all of the bags.

Armin fidgeted nervously and stood beside Eren, who glared fiercely at the floor in contemplation. The blonde genius knew what Eren was thinking, but he wanted to hear it in order to clear his mind from his morbid predictions.

“Yen for your thoughts?” Armin muttered, crossing his arms. Eren chuckled morosely and shrugged.

“I have a million thoughts – do you have a million yen?”

“No, but I have a half-eaten cookie.”

Eren laughed and hugged Armin with an arm. “You're awesome, buddy. I'm happy we're friends. Let's hope we get out of here together in one piece.” Eren grinned and looked down at his friend. Armin looked up and smiled, nodding slightly. He felt a tingle go down his spine when Eren slid his arm off and stepped away, but ignored it in favour of listening to Levi.

“Alright everyone!” Levi shouted, pressing a switch on his torch, “we need to get the fuck out of here – someone left the door open and those shit heads are clambering in. We're gonna go out from the back door of the lobby, behind the counter, and we'll go from there. Any questions?”

“How will we get down?”

“Good question – there's another fire escape at the other end of the hall, and I had a few guys barricade the door there yesterday, so we're good for now. Anything else?”

The teens shook their heads and Levi exhaled quietly. He beckoned them forward and led the group down the hall. Eren and Armin stood on either side of him while Annie and Mikasa stayed behind the group. Sasha held another torch and walked on the side, looking back at the other two girls occasionally.

In the dark hall, Armin allowed his thoughts to wander. Eren, his family, his future, humanity... all these clouded his mind, saturated it, bathed it and destroyed it. How was his family doing? How were they supposed to get to Sina City? Were other countries affected like this? Were people looking for a cure? Was he going to live? And Eren... would he live too?

The boy shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked to the side, past Levi's stoic expression, to see the tense muscles in Eren's jaw clench and release periodically. The low light blocked out the emeralds of his eyes, which Armin desperately needed to see to be reassured. He had come to depend on Eren's strength to keep him from spiralling into misery, and Armin stopped walking to come to terms with this thought.

When someone bumped into him, he shook his head again and resumed his pace, catching up to the short teacher. The blonde boy grit his teeth as he finally realized his weakness – he was too dependent on Eren, and that would not be able to help him in the future. He needed to back off of Eren and find his own strength, his own determination.

With that thought in mind, Armin plucked the torch from Levi's hands and paced in front of him. Levi sputtered in disbelief and Eren blinked in surprise.

“I'll lead,” Armin announced proudly, “I know this escape plan better than you do, and I mapped out the building.”

Levi stared at Armin for a while before nodding and resuming the walk. Armin reached the fire escape and opened the door, setting the stand and motioning his comrades through. He let Eren walk next to him and descended the steps quietly. When a few students put too much pressure on their steps, Armin stopped walking, turned around and reminded them to lighten their pace.

They reached the lobby and Levi cursed under his breath when he saw the random undead loitering about. He motioned for Annie and Mikasa, weapons readied, to take them out. The teens watched in awe as the girls fluidly eliminated each threat, Sasha watching on with a lump in her throat. She blinked rapidly and ignored the quivering of her lip – those two were so much better without her, it seemed. However, she thought, smiling slightly, I'm lucky they're my friends. She loved them whether they left her behind or not, and she would forgive them if they did. While they were good at fighting, she was good at caring.

When they finished, Annie and Mikasa leaned against each other and panted lightly. Levi walked up to them, prepared to commend them for a job well done, but a rotted corpse reached out and gripped his ankle tightly. With a heave, the zombie reached forward and sunk its teeth into the back of his calf. Levi looked down in horror and crushed the hand with his boot in his rage. He bit his lip to suppress a scream and fell to his knees.

 

The teens rushed to him and he flopped onto his back. His breathing was getting quick and the adrenalin he had been experiencing since the announcement of the break-in was rushing far too fast for his liking. He felt feverish, and he barely saw Mikasa's miserable eyes as she lifted her katana and pressed it to the skin above his heart.

“Do it,” he whispered, closing his eyes, “I don't want to turn into one of them. Get to Sina, get these kids to safety. You, Annie and Eren are the leaders of this group, and Armin is the mind. Sasha is the body, she keeps you guys together, but remember – never give up, and don't you dare cry over me,  regret killing me, or I'll fucking haunt you all.”

“Thank you,” Mikasa murmured, slicing into his chest cavity and piercing his heart. She rested her forehead on the handle of her katana. Sasha and Annie placed their hands on her shoulders in comfort, and she straightened, drawing a deep breath to calm her nerves.

All of the other students watched in shock, amazed that their only chance at survival was dead. Levi may have been harsh, but he knew what he was doing. Now he was gone, and they were left with the scattered remains of his legacy.

“Let's move on,” Mikasa said, removing her katana and wiping the blood off, “we're wasting time crying over a dead man.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked behind the counter.

Eren stood in shock, not believing what had just occurred. Levi was dead. Mikasa killed him. Mikasa was just walking away like nothing fucking happened, and here their leader was dead, the man who saved all of their rotten and useless lives.

With fury in his actions, he marched up to her and spun her around, glaring into her passive eyes. “What the fuck? He just died, and you want to leave his body here to rot?” he spat.

Unaffected by his angry tirade, she looked at Levi's body and told Eren to quiet down.

“No! I don't want to-”

Mikasa covered his mouth and told him to shut up, listen, can't you hear that? There were sounds of objects falling down the stairs from one of the fire escapes, as well as the familiar chilling groans no one had gotten accustomed to. Eren ripped himself away from Mikasa's grip and clenched his fists.

“Fuck this!” he snapped, “I'm not going anywhere with you! I'm gonna put Levi's body somewhere safe and I'll get to Sina on my own.”

“Eren, that's not very-”

“I don't care! I admired Levi a lot, and I respect him enough to respect his body.”

“But you're not respecting his wishes.”

Eren ignored Mikasa and picked up Levi's corpse, dragging his feet to the fire escape they had just exited. Armin followed him and looked back at Mikasa, who had sighed and beckoned other students to follow her. The majority of them did, with a few unsure of what to do. Their indecisive cost them, for other packs of undead burst from the other fire escape and rushed to them with firm grips.

Marco was one of those few. As much as he wanted to follow Mikasa, he owed Levi a lot. If Levi hadn't been a wondrous leader, then he wouldn't have met Mikasa and Annie, and he would've been dead. It was strange the way the world worked, and Marco supposed he should go along with it and pay his respect to Levi by aiding Eren. As soon as they finished, they could leave and make their way to Sina.

“Eren, where are you going?” Armin asked desperately, looking over his shoulder every minute or so.

“I'm going to put Levi's body in our base. That's the best place for him to be left right now,” Eren explained.

Armin shook his head. “Eren, there are... _they_ are up there. You're gonna die!”

“I don't care! Levi died, how are we supposed to live if he's dead?” Eren shouted.

“You don't give up! You keep going! Levi would backhand you if he saw what you're doing, Eren! Come on, let's go before Mikasa gets too far!”

“You go then, Armin! I can do this on my own!”

“No! I'm your best friend – I go where you go.”

Eren stopped walking and turned to Armin with a grin. His eyes were teary, and he looked like he wanted to hug the blonde boy, but settled for a thankful smile instead. “Thanks buddy.”

“EREN LOOK OUT!”

Armin hadn't been lying when he said there were undead stumbling about in the hall they had passed. Eren would look back on this day if he survived long enough and curse his stupidity and stubbornness, for it cost him too much in the end. He would vow to never let his emotions get ahead of him again, and would put the lives of his friends over the memory of the dead.

Eren was roughly shoved to the side, and the arms meant for the tall boy went around Armin instead. Teeth bit into the flesh of his neck and Armin screamed in pain. Eren watched dumbly as his best friend was eaten before his eyes. Marco used his good arm to pull Eren along and forcibly shoved Levi's corpse off of him. Eren said nothing, simply staring at the rushing ground in shock and horror as Marco dragged him down the stairs and away from Armin's dying pleas for help.

They sidestepped the undead feasting on their comrades and went out the exit behind the lobby. He watched Annie and Mikasa fight with the undead, Sasha at their feet. She was dead, her innards spilling from her abdomen.

With hopeless desperation, Marco tugged Eren along and slapped him across his face. This seemed to wake the boy up, for he shouted Armin's name and made to go back, but Marco held him still and shook him roughly.

“Eren! He's dead, we have to move on!” Marco pleaded urgently. There were hordes gaining on them and they could be eaten any second now. Eren stared dumbly for a few second but nodded, dragging Marco away from the infested apartment complex.

x

Krista watched as Ymir worked on the car, removing the old battery carefully and installing the new one. It looked like complicated, hard work, and Krista marvelled at how well Ymir could function under the stress they were experiencing in every waking moment. Ymir wore her tank top and left her discarded uniform shirt on the couch. She had a streak of oil across her right cheek, as well as grease stains on her top as a result of leaning too heavily into the hood of the car. She wore gloves, dirty from use, and sweat dripped down from her forehead.

To sum it up, she looked extremely sexy to Krista.

The blonde wrung the towel in her hand tightly, feeling her temperature rise. She watched the brunette reach into her back pocket for a wrench and turned her head away, swallowing nervously. She blamed her attraction on her hormones, because she had never been attracted like that to anyone before – she never thought of it, having friends to occupy her days and homework to occupy her nights – but now, seeing Ymir, her hero, work like this with her body invigorated her. She wanted to see more, maybe touch if she could.

Jean and Connie laughed as they threw a rolled up rag at each other. They were waiting for Ymir to finish installing the new battery in the car, which they had retrieved from the other one. It hadn't been easy, and they had suffered much from Ymir's vocal abuse in the process. Connie would not let it go and Jean agreed with the boy.

Jean told them about his boyfriend, Marco, and how he felt horrible when they were separated. He only hoped that the boy had found somewhere safe to stay until he could fetch them. Connie explained how he was on the lookout for his family, but with the news of the safe haven in Sina, he decided it would be better to get there and look for them rather than getting himself killed here and never seeing them again.

The car had been lowered thanks to Jean, since the boy had accidentally found a backup power generator when he had been wandering around, looking for a means of communication. It had enough power left to lower the lift and allow Ymir to work on the car.

Krista sighed and stood up, fed up with doing absolutely nothing. She went to Ymir and observed her gloved hands skilfully tighten the bolts on the newly-installed battery. The brunette straightened and lifted her arms above her head, sighing in relief. Her freckled shoulders seemed tense to the blonde.

Ymir shut the hood and turned to Krista with a grin. “We're all ready to go, squirt.”

“Don't call me that,” Krista pouted, “and look, you have something on your cheek.” She reached forward and wiped the smear off gingerly, her eyes flicking from her hand to the brunette's own brown orbs. Ymir watched her with an unreadable expression, but Krista could see the faint unease in her eyes at her actions. She started to move back but Ymir held her in place with a large hand over her wrist.

“I'm sweaty,” Ymir said simply.

Krista fought down a smile and a blush and wiped the brunette's forehead as well, going around her face, down her jaw, her neck, and stopping at her collarbone. Ymir grinned wryly and took the towel from her hands, finishing the rest of the job by going under her arms. The blonde laughed but shrieked when Ymir threw the towel in her face. It smelt musky, sweaty and greasy – not the most pleasant smell.

The shorter girl fumed and tossed the towel to the side. “That was gross,” she admonished.

“That was me,” Ymir replied.

“That was you plus grease and oil,” Krista retorted.

“Whatever. Get those monkeys ready with our stuff – we're leaving now.”

“Ha! I win,” Krista cheered, walking away.

“Oh, but, Krista... I'm sure you loved smelling me, didn't you?” Ymir teased, laughing at Krista's beet red face.

Soon enough, Krista and Ymir sat in the front, waiting for the boys to pack their things into the trunk. Ymir clipped her seat belt and Krista raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Seat belt this time?” she asked teasingly.

“It saved my life when we crashed before – you saved my life with your nagging, can you believe that?” Ymir replied, chuckling.

“Funny, Ymir,” Krista giggled, rolling her eyes. Them joking around was the only way they could cope with the fact that death lied outside these metal walls, and their only hope at a chance for long-term survival rested on the fact that the Promised Land of Sina truly existed within walls. They had to be serious about it, but that didn't mean they had to lose all humour – it could save them in the future when they least expected it.

“Hey, why's the bitch driving?” Connie complained.

“'Cause this bitch has been working with cars since she was twelve,” Ymir retorted, rolling her eyes.

“So? I bet I'm a better driver than you.”

“I don't give a damn. Go sit in the back and knit some sweaters or something.”

“I'll knit a sweater alright,” Connie muttered, “and choke you with it.” He ignored her order and stood by Jean, going over the supplies one last time. They had, in addition to retrieving the battery, managed to find some food and a first-aid kit tucked in the vehicle. Jean had sobbed when he remembered how excited Reiner had been to have a feast with his friends, but Connie pulled him together and helped him stuff them in the trunk of the car.

Ymir pretended to not hear what he said and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. They were facing the outside of the garage, and once they were ready Jean would press the button to lift the door of the garage.

Krista noticed Ymir's tense expression and put her hand on her thigh unconsciously. “Ymir? Why did you start working with cars?”

The brunette flicked her eyes to the side and relaxed slightly. Talking about and working with cars always managed to relieve her anger. “I found a broken down car in a field once, and I tried to hot wire it based on what I heard. It was a success, and I found that I liked to tamper with cars. So one day I went to a random garage and demanded they hire me and teach me. I got laughed at, but then I showed them what I could do when I hotwired a car in front of their eyes. The owner took me in as his apprentice, but he's probably dead now.”

Krista smiled warmly and Ymir's chest tingled slightly. “I'm sorry he's dead, but I'm glad you're here now,” Krista admitted quietly, retreating her hand to her lap and looking down at it.

Ymir snorted and pressed her forehead to the steering wheel, turning her head to smile at the window. “Yeah, me too,” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	7. Chapter 7

“How do you do this one, Krista?” Sasha asked and crawled over to Krista to shove her workbook into her face. “I don’t get it.”

 

Krista giggled.

 

They were both lying on the floor in the living room of Krista’s home, school books and pencil cases scattered on the floor around them. They were nearing exams and Sasha had begged Krista to help her out before the tests started.

“Okay, look here,” Krista said and pointed at a section of the page. She followed the words with her finger as she read the sentence out, and then explained it to her brunette friend. When they had covered what Sasha didn’t understand, the hungry girl shot up and uttered a long screech of relief.

“I get it!”

“Get what, Sasha dear?” Krista’s mother asked after entering the lounge to find her daughter giggling and her friend being loud, like always. Despite the noise she smiled. “Dinner is ready by the way.”

Sasha turned to her blonde friend with wide, frenzied eyes. “Can we eat now and finish studying later?”

Behind them Mrs Renz laughed with a hand covering her face. Krista smiled at her friend and nodded. “Of course, Sasha. You probably wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway.” She stood and reached down to help Sasha up, but then her surroundings suddenly changed. Her mother disappeared, her amused laughter slowly fading and ringing in Krista’s ears. Below her the floor fell away to darkness, and when Krista reached out for Sasha before she fell, her brunette friend made no move to catch her.

Instead, Sasha watched her fall and scream with white, hungry eyes and dead, peeling skin.

Before her fall ended, Krista startled awake, luckily not screaming in her fright.

“Oi, are you okay?” Ymir sat behind the wheel, eyes quickly darting to Krista after hearing her gasp and seeing her form shoot up in the seat.

“I’m fine.” Krista breathed, sweat trickling down her face and her chest tightening painfully.

After fixing the car and packing themselves and the supplies, Jean had opened the garage and Ymir had hit the gas. Luckily most of the zombies hadn’t been in the way and they managed to speed off down the street, only knocking two zombies under the car. After leaving the neighbourhood they avoided the public areas, places that would have been crowded and made for the road out of town. Within an hour they left Maria and headed to Trost, hoping that the ride would remain just as uneventful.

Since leaving the garage Connie and Jean had noisily chatted, making Ymir grit her teeth and eventually stop the car to turn around and threaten to rip their penises out if they didn’t shut the fuck up. At that Connie had bristled and clenched his fists, threatening to pull Ymir out of the damn car and show her who was capable of beating the other. It was a fight of wills until Krista pulled Ymir down and Jean did likewise for Connie. The blonde tried her best to calm the tall freckled teen down, begging her to continue riding because a few zombies on the road were scuffling towards them.

Ymir had calmed, but her upset hadn’t completely gone down. At the back Connie grumbled lowly to Jean, muttering his anger and suspicion. When he mentioned something about suspecting Ymir for killing Jean’s friends, the boy had broken down in sobs and Connie quieted down in guilt. They then remained quiet, no one talking or breaking the tense atmosphere. Ymir continued to focus on the road, avoiding a few zombies here and there, and Krista kept a close eye on her face. It wouldn’t do if Ymir’s judgement was impeded by her anger.

Luckily there were no more implications and Connie eventually struck up light conversation with Krista again, avoiding heavy topics or talking about the people they had lost and left behind. Ymir ignored them though she focused on the blonde’s pretty voice to keep her irritation at Connie’s voice from flaring up. Not long after Jean got over his sadness and joined in, telling funny tales of a dog he once had when he was much younger.

Now the duo at the back were fast asleep, Connie’s face pressed against the window and his drool slowly trickling down. Jean simply tipped his head back and slept that way, snoring very lightly. Krista herself had fallen asleep after realizing that she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. But now she had woken, her heart slowly calming after a torrent of nightmares had plagued her sleeping mind.

Ymir had remained awake for the few hours the others had slept, and now she was relieved that Krista had woken up. It had been getting lonely, and now that night had fallen, constantly keeping watch for any roaming dead was raising her stress levels, though they were far off from any town or city and in the middle of nowhere. The road they were travelling had been empty up until now, void of cars and the living or dead.

“You snore, you know.” Ymir piped up to break the silence and to ease Krista’s panic. She glanced over every few minutes, worried for the blonde.

“R-really?” Krista blushed and covered her cheeks with her hands even though Ymir couldn’t see them. “You snore too you know, really loudly. It’s not attractive at all.” Really, she couldn’t help but mention that.

Ymir snorted. “There are a lot of things about me that aren’t attractive.”

“That’s not true.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“But what I do know of you is beautiful.” Ymir remained silent, uncomfortably shifting in her seat. She felt her heart flutter slightly, and it only worsened when Krista continued. “You’re selfish, I’ve noticed that, but you went out of your way to save me. When I was dangling there at school, you killed that zombie and pulled me up. When we crashed you picked me up and carried me to safety. You say you can’t be trusted, that you don’t care, but you saved me. You are my hero Ymir. Not to mention that you really are attractive.” At that Krista’s stomach churned with butterflies and she looked down at her lap.

“Attractive, huh? Convince me.” Ymir sounded like she was teasing, but inside the brunette’s stomach fluttered with butterflies too.

“W-well… I think your freckles look really good on you. You are tall and your skin is dark. You have really beautiful brown eyes. I can imagine you being able to make love and kill someone with your eyes. Your voice is d-deep but soothing, even when it’s rough and husky. Wh-when you were working on the car I saw your m-muscles and it’s really, really… uh… pretty…”

Ymir laughed, her own cheek ablaze with a blush and her lips curved into a giant grin. “Pretty? Sounds like someone has a crush on me.”

Krista fidgeted and wrung her hands together. “Do not!”

“You totally do, what with you ogling me.” Ymir turned and managed to flash a naughty grin at Krista’s direction, and luckily the blonde had seen it.

“Ymir!” Krista whispered in an angry breath, though she felt like Ymir might just be right. When Ymir turned back to the road and released a jaw-splitting yawn, Krista’s upset turned to worry. “Ymir, don’t you think you should let Connie drive?”

“Why? That idiot will probably get us killed.”

“Ymir,” Krista reached out and covered Ymir’s thigh with her hand, “you look and sound really tired. If you won’t let Connie drive then can we maybe turn back if there’s a gas station or something nearby?”

Ymir shook her head and swallowed at the heat seeping through and covering her skin where Krista pressed her hand to the brunette’s thigh. “I passed a gas station a few hours ago and we can’t afford to turn back. Maybe if we’re lucky we can pass by another one and stop there for the night.” She lifted her shoulders and felt a satisfying crack. “I am feeling pretty exhausted.”

Krista nodded happily to herself and removed her hand. She settled in against the car door and glanced out of the window. Like what had happened in her dream, everything was in darkness. She couldn’t see anything other than the road in front of them where the car lights touched. The brights were on, but that still didn’t illuminate much.

“So Ymir, what were your plans for after school?” Since it would be a while until they possibly found somewhere to stop by, Krista decided that they might as well pass conversation as the minutes went.

“What does it matter? All of our plans have gone to shit.”

“I still want to know though.”

Ymir sighed but relented. “I wanted to build cars, fix cars. Probably study mechanics or something.” She sounded bored, but it was a big thing for her, to talk to Krista about this. Even if her plans would no longer come to fruition, they had all still been serious plans for her. No one had ever cared to know about them. “What about you?”

“Oh!” Krista clapped her hands softly in excitement and started swinging her legs. “I wanted to become a nurse, to help people.”

“Sounds like a crappy job.”

“It isn’t a crappy job! My dream is to help people.”

“So why not go to Africa or something, where people really need your help?”

Krista sighed. “I guess you’re right, but it doesn’t matter anymore. So what did you do when you weren’t at school?”

“Seriously, another question?”

“Well we’ve got nothing else to do and I’d like to get to know you.”

Ymir then shrugged, deciding not to argue. Besides, she was strangely enjoying having a sort of private conversation with the cute little blonde. If she didn’t know better she would think that she was the one crushing.

“I’m boring as shit, but if you insist. When not at school I was always working on my car or my bike.”

“You have a car?”

“I was building one with pieces I found in junkyards. Same with the bike. I managed to restore the bike enough to ride it, but it needed a lot more improvements to be safe and sexy on the road.”

“Sexy?”

Ymir snorted. “I can’t look cool if my ride is all rusted and noisy.”

“Ooh, true.”

“Are you done with the questions yet?”

“Nope!”

Ymir sighed. “Alright, get to it.”

Krista beamed that Ymir was willing to answer her questions. Her mind was filled with so many that it took a little while for her to sort through them and decide on the most important.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Nope, and I doubt I ever will be. Unless I find one of those zombie babes attractive.”

“Ymir, ew! There are still living people you know!”

“Oh, like you?” Ymir smirked over to Krista and laughed at the flush on her face. “But love is annoying and right now I think surviving is more important.”

“But with the way the world is now I think we will need people to love and keep close.”

“You mean lust, not love. We’ve all lost our sanity when everything went to hell, but we all still have our needs.”

Krista sighed and slumped against the door again. It was true, she had to admit. She probably would never fall in love either, unless she fell for Ymir. The thought was very appealing, and it made Krista’s breath hitch. Ymir would definitely always protect her, whether they stayed friends or not.

“Oh hey I see light in the distance!” Ymir pointed and Krista followed her gaze. In the distance a small dot flashed with bright, orange and green light. When they got closer she realized it was a hotel.

“It’s a hotel!”

“Fucking great!” Ymir exclaimed with a relieved grin and turned into the parking lot of the hotel when they reached it. There were no cars in the driveway, but there were bound to be a few zombies in the area. That or the employees of the area and other people had fled. Ymir hoped it was the latter, since it was dark and they didn’t have a flashlight.

“Connie, Jean,” Krista tried to wake them, but they were still snoring away when her soft voice didn’t rouse them. Ymir opened and then slammed her door, effectively startling them both out of sleep.

“What the fuck?!”

“What’s going on?”

Ymir grinned to herself. “Welcome back, boys.”

“Krista, where are we?” Connie ignored Ymir’s taunting and focused on the blonde’s blue eyes.

“We’ve stopped at a hotel because Ymir is tired.”

“A hotel? This far out?” Jean commented, glancing out of the window at the blinking sign. There was no other light, so there were obviously no living people there because they had probably already fled. Of course, they couldn’t assume that the place was safe just yet.

“Krista, you and Jean stay here while I check the place out with Connie.”

“Me?” Connie sputtered in anger and grabbed the back of Ymir’s seat. “Why me?”

“Because Jean and Krista are weak and I really don’t trust leaving you here.” Ymir opened the door and made a move to step out, but Krista grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“We don’t have a flashlight, will you be safe?”

“We have a candle in the boot. Don’t worry, if anything happens I’ll kick Connie to any of the dead to distract them and I’ll run back here.”

“Oi, bitch, I heard that!” Connie yelled from where he was retrieving and then lighting the candle by the trunk. He quietly shut the lid and then waited for Ymir to climb out of the car.

“Just be safe, please?” The worry and care made Ymir smile down at her and pat her on the head.

“I’ll be fine, squirt. Lock the doors and hoot like crazy if anything happens. I’ll come running.” Krista’s grip slipped from her arm and then Ymir stepped out of the car and shut the door. She accepted the wrench from Connie and nodded for him to take the lead, which he did with a grumble.

Inside of the car Krista sighed and watched Ymir’s back until they disappeared into the building. When they were gone Jean poked her shoulder and grinned sheepishly when Krista jumped in fright.

“Sorry.”

“Jean, I forgot you were there. Sorry.”

“You seem really worried for her,” Jean observed, inclining his head to where Ymir had disappeared. “Are you friends or something?”

Krista nervously scratched her cheek, not liking the tone of Jean’s voice or the hard look he was giving her. “Well, we didn’t know each other before this zombie thing happened. Actually, she saved my life more than once.”

Jean looked openly surprised to hear that and sat back with his arms crossed over his chest. “Weird, I thought for sure that you probably just bumped into her or something.”

“Why would you think that?”

Jean looked off to the side, his chest tightening painfully. “Connie told me that Ymir had been on the roof when my friends were struggling in front of the garage. There were gunshots and all, and when the shots stopped, she went back inside. Connie said she looked like she had just seen a ghost but acted like she hadn’t. I think she did something to my friends.”

Krista immediately bristled. “Ymir wouldn’t do that! The worst she would do was ignore them. She would have never hurt them!”

“How can you be so sure? You’ve only known her for a day.”

Krista glared this time. “Because she saved my life and I just know it in my heart.”

Jean saw the conviction in her eyes and sighed. “Alright, sorry for offending you.”

“I don’t appreciate how you and Connie keep trying to make Ymir look like a murderer. She would never do that.”

This time Jean lifted his hands. “I get it, don’t worry. I’m sorry.”

Krista sat back down and folded her arms across her chest. She chewed nervously on her lip and mentally begged Ymir to return soon.

Meanwhile Ymir and Connie nervously stepped through the darkness. The reception area had been empty and there were no signs of any kind of struggle. When the entire room was cleared they found a light switch and flipped it on, utterly grateful when the pale light flickered to life and bathed them in illumination. The room was neat and nothing was out of place. It did look like whoever had been here had probably left in a hurry.

With the reception now cleared, they made sure to tightly close the doors before they split up to check the rooms. Connie took the top floor while Ymir took the bottom, and each of them checked the rooms for any dead bodies or the living dead. The lights were all working and the rooms were all empty. A few had unmade beds and takeaway trash lying around, but other than that the place was untouched and safe. Everyone here had most definitely fled when news of the outbreak had broadcasted. They all had probably left for Sina.

Ymir dumped the candle and quickly made her way to the car with Connie, who had reported that the second floor was equally deserted.

“Ymir!” Krista sprang out and wrapped herself around the freckled teen when the brunette had opened her door after indicating that she should unlock it. She was so relieved to see her safe and unharmed.

“Gah… uh… Krista?”

Krista immediately flushed and unhooked herself.

“The place is completely empty. The power is on so we have light. The safest bet is to take rooms on the second floor and barricade the stairs with something. Just in case.”

Krista nodded vigorously and started following her hero towards the stairs.

“Hold up, what about the supplies? What if someone drives past and loots the car?” Connie halted them in their tracks with his question, but Ymir waved him off.

“At this hour? I doubt it. Besides, we won’t be here for that long and I don’t think anyone would stop just for one lone car in a suspicious place like this.” She grabbed Krista’s hand and tugged her along.

Connie scratched his head and grit his teeth. “I swear if I’m right then I’m punching that bitch in the mouth.”

Jean comforted his new friend by patting his shoulder. “Don’t worry Connie, I think Ymir has a point. They have no way to know what’s in the car and it’s a big risk, especially if they’re going to Sina.”

Connie threw his hands up into the air. “Whatever!” And then he locked and slammed the door shut. He and Jean quickly checked that all of the doors were locked – Ymir had the keys – and then they both hurried to catch up with the girls.

“We can take the room closest to the stairs,” Ymir commented to Krista, halfway through their conversation. “There’s a single bed but I’m sure we can fit.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. Aren’t we all sharing a room?” Connie spoke up, unhappy with the idea of that stranger being alone with his friend.

“Not unless you both want the floor. Besides, we’re girls and it’s only logical that we sleep in a separate room from the boys.” Ymir rolled her eyes.

“It’s a fucking zombie apocalypse! Separating the boys and girls doesn’t matter!”

“Whatever, we’ll take this room. If anything breaks through the barricade which you boys can figure out, then I’ll hear it. Goodnight!” And then Ymir pulled Krista into the room with her and shut and locked the door.

Connie didn’t have time to argue back, so he simply growled under his breath and then tugged Jean along to find stuff to shove in the stairway. Probably a couch or something big that those stupid zombies couldn’t scale – hopefully.

Krista had watched the interaction with a frown but hadn’t intervened. She felt safe enough with just Ymir, and a certain part of her was selfishly pleased that she would get to share a room and a bed with the tall teen. That part also made her blush. She felt slightly guilty for not coming to Connie’s aid, but his behaviour towards Ymir eased most of her guilt.

“Fuck yeah, there’s hot water!” Ymir exclaimed from the bathroom. She immediately turned the shower on and started to strip. “I’ll be quick, and then when I’m done you can take a quick shower, alright?” The bathroom door was open but Krista had taken a seat on the small couch and avoided looking into the open doorway.

“O-okay!”

“Oh shit, I forgot a towel. Can you see if one of the cupboards has any?”

Krista sucked in a breath and hurried to search for the needed towel. They probably should have thought about that first, but Ymir had been eager to clean the grime and sweat from her skin.

Krista found big, fluffy towels in the closet and pulled two out for her and Ymir. She then nervously hurried over to the bathroom and handed one to Ymir, keeping her eyes trained on the floor.

“Thanks.”

Ymir stepped out and wrapped her body in the towel. When Krista glanced up she caught the brunette shaking her wet brown locks and shivered at the sight of her broad, freckled and still wet shoulders.

“Well, are you going to hop in, midget? You better before the water goes cold.” She hadn’t switched the shower off.

Krista flushed and nodded. “O-of course!” And then she pushed Ymir out of the bathroom and shut the door. Ymir laughed loudly but went to her pile of clothes and dried off before she dressed. It sucked that they had no other clothes, but at least they could shower.

After the blonde showered she dressed in the bathroom and then opened the door. Ymir glanced up when she did and watched the steam bellow out alongside Krista as she took soft, slow steps towards the bed and crawled on top of it.

“The idiots put a bunch of mattresses and a couch by the staircase. That should keep anything dead out, hopefully. Did you enjoy the shower?” Ymir stood by the window since she had been looking out to observe the surroundings. She now walked towards Krista, more than ready to climb into bed too.

“I-it was nice.” Krista blushed and looked away. Ymir had only put her sports bra and boy shorts underwear on, so her tall, lean and defined body was bared for Krista to see. The blonde herself was also only in her underwear, so she quickly burrowed herself underneath the soft blanket to hide her exposed skin from Ymir’s leering eyes. Ymir wasn’t even hiding the fact that she was looking.

“Think you can manage to fall asleep?” Ymir climbed in beside her, and as she had said earlier, the bed was a single. They ended up pressed together, and since they wore only their underwear, their skin was touching. Krista shivered at the warmth and softness but managed to nod her head.

“I think that as long as you’re close by, I’ll feel safe.”

Ymir blushed lightly and settled down on her side, her back facing Krista. “Well, goodnight then. If you’re scared then just wake me, or whatever.” Even though she tried to sound nonchalant, Krista could still hear the concern.

Krista smiled and curled up against her back and pressed her forehead between the brunette’s shoulders, making her stiffen. “Thank you, Ymir. Goodnight.”

And when she closed her eyes, she fell quickly into a dreamless sleep.

XxX

The next morning Krista was woken by the loss of heat and the sound of shuffling around the room. When her heart jumped into her throat and she shot up in the bed, she realized that it was just Ymir moving quietly in the room. She walked towards the door, fully clothed and armed with the wrench from the previous night.

“Ymir?” Krista questioned softly and climbed out of bed.

Ymir froze by the door, hand already gripping the handle. “Go back to sleep, Krista.” she said softly, her voice sounding off.

“Ymir, where are you going?” Krista’s mind cleared and she finally realized the situation. Ymir was dressed and armed, which meant she was leaving the room. There was no logical reason for her to do so, unless she was planning on leaving.

“I… I…” Ymir sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I want to leave.”

“Why?”

Ymir grit her teeth. “I want to get my ass to Sina and I don’t want to be with those two idiots.” Of course, the guilt had also started to gnaw at her ever since Jean had joined their pathetic group. She couldn’t handle those accusing eyes; especially since she had watched his friends die right in front of her eyes.

“B-but… why would you leave me behind?”

“I just thought… that you’d rather want to stay. I can’t make you chose me over a friend, or something. I don’t know. I just didn’t want to drag you out there with me.”

“You weren’t going to take the car?”

“I never said I wasn’t going to.”

Krista suddenly wrapped her arms around Ymir from behind. “Ymir, please don’t leave without me. I don’t like how Connie and Jean treat you either, but can we really just leave them behind without transport?”

“This place still has power and probably food somewhere, and we can even leave some of the supplies. Krista, I’ll leave anyway.”

Krista tightened her hold. “Okay.” She swallowed her guilt down. “Whatever you decide is okay, just don’t leave me behind.”

Ymir shuddered and released a long breath. “Then get dressed. It’s barely light outside and we’ll need to leave before the other two wake up.”

Krista nodded and ignored her guilt as she pulled her uniform on and then re-joined Ymir by the door. “Thank you for letting me come with you. I… I couldn’t handle being separated from you.”

“Well, you might have to hold off on that relief because we have a problem.”

Krista’s brows furrowed and she grabbed onto the back of Ymir’s shirt. “Ymir?”

Looking outside, the door cracked open, Ymir stared seriously out into the grey morning. “Sometime during the morning a horde passed by, and they’re not quite done.”

When Krista glanced around Ymir’s tall figure, she gasped.

Littering the parking lot and road was indeed a very big group of the undead. They stumbled and groaned, all seemingly walking in one direction for no particular reason. They hadn’t made it to the second floor, thankfully, because of the blockade, but they did surround the car as they leisurely walked by.

“Krista, if we can get to the car in time then I can drive us out of here. It will take too long to wait for this horde to pass, and I don’t want to make any noise to wake the others. Are you willing to do this?”

Krista swallowed and her grip on Ymir’s shirt tightened. “I’m scared, but I guess I have no choice.”

Ymir curled an arm around her shoulder in comfort. “Don’t worry. I won’t let those fuckers lay a finger on you.”

Krista smiled, feeling somewhat comforted by the strong arm and the determination in her words, and she knew that Ymir meant it. She would always protect her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	8. Chapter 8

The grey backdrop of morning clouds provided a glum atmosphere to the area. The world seemed to darken and depress upon everyone’s mood - Jean shifted slightly in his sleep and frowned, while Connie tossed and turned, his teeth grit tightly. As though foreshadowing a great calamity, thunder boomed in the distance and clouds swelled with pent-up rain.

 

Connie woke with a strange feeling in his stomach, a sort of churning and uneasiness that forced him out of bed and into the hotel room bathroom. He splashed his face with water from the tap and ignored the rivulets of liquid sliding down his chin. The feeling remained strong in his gut.

 

“I’m probably just hungry,” he dismissed, grimacing as he did not even believe in his own excuse. He leaned over the counter and sighed heavily, leaning his forehead against the mirror. His breath fogged up the space in front of him, and he stared into the weary, red eyes of his reflection.

 

This whole mess, with Ymir and the zombies and his family, was driving him insane. He could feel his sanity inch away every time he looked at his hands and imagined peeling, cold grey flesh instead of warm calloused skin. He clenched his fists in sudden fear when the image of him dragging his feet and groaning lowly invaded his mind.

 

Shaking his head, he sighed and stepped out of the bathroom to look out the window. Looking out at the scenery calmed him down, and he really needed to clear his head before he got angry again and-

 

“Fucking hell,” Connie whispered in disbelief, eyes wide in horror.

 

Outside the window, he could see a horde of walking corpses surrounding the car Ymir had fixed up. Their moans were not loud enough for him to hear from where he was, but he still felt them reverberating deep in his core.

 

Quickly, he went to Jean to wake him up, but a sudden shout from outside made him blink in confusion and run back to the window. He and Ymir had already checked for survivors, so why was there-

 

“FUCKING HELL!” Connie shouted in fury, eyes wide in rage. He punched the wall beside the window in overwhelming anger, cracking through the drywall and denting the structure. Jean jumped from his sleep and turned to him with a confused albeit tired look.

 

“Connie… what’s going on?” Jean demanded after seeing the damage to the wall. He blinked his eyes awake and concentrated on clearing the blurring from his vision. He could see Connie trembling in rage and he needed to know why.

 

“Take a look for yourself,” Connie muttered, face red. His voice shook as he spoke, and he made room for Jean to peek out the window. Jean gasped and swore loudly, kicking the wall as well.

 

“She’s got Krista with her, that bitch!” Connie shouted angrily. Jean nodded in agreement and continued to observe the two’s actions, suddenly retracting any sympathy he felt for the brunette.

 

Ymir tugged Krista along by her wrist to the car, ignoring Krista’s shout for her to slow down. They had an opening and Ymir was going to take it before they lost their chance. To Connie and Jean, it seemed like Ymir forcibly took Krista with her, but in reality, Ymir wanted to get Krista to safety as soon as possible.

 

The brunette whacked every threat in her way with the wrench and kept the blonde close to her body. Krista had the car keys in her hand, gripping them tightly and preparing herself to shove them into the door slot. Ymir hurriedly shoved Krista in front of her and fended off any threat that tried to approach them. The zombies were slowly starting to strengthen their blows, and it would only be a matter of time before they went all out and devoured them both.

 

“Hurry, damn it!” Ymir grunted as she splattered the brains of another walking corpse. They were getting more difficult to eliminate now, and she was starting to feel the pull on her muscles and the stress of keeping them alive.

 

Krista fumbled with the keys, her brain a nervous mess, but eventually unlocked the driver’s side and leaped into the passenger’s seat. She avoided looking out the window, for she knew what she would see, and quickly ignited the engine while she waited for Ymir to get in.

 

The brunette scowled and knocked away a zombie clinging to the door before she too hurriedly entered the car and slammed the door shut. A few flaky, rotting fingers got caught and fell beside her, but she ignored them in favour of getting the hell out of here.

 

The girls clipped their seatbelts and Ymir was quick to run over all their obstacles, but before she could drive off, she heard a blood curdling cry from the hotel. Her eyes locked with Connie’s, and though she could feel the guilt seeping from Krista, she ignored it and replaced her own feelings with indifference and aloofness.

 

Connie raged from behind the window, but Jean put a hand to his shoulder to calm him down. Ymir drove off, tires screeching against the road and down the highway. Thunder clapped again in the distance, and rainfall quickly made its descent to wash away the blood of the undead.

 

“She needs to die,” Connie mumbled dazedly, “she needs to pay for what she did to Krista, to us.”

 

Jean shook his head in disappointment. “And after all that trouble Krista went through to convince me… nah, Ymir is a shitty person.”

 

“She is!” Connie laughed, “the bitch left us for dead, and I’m gonna fucking kill her.” He could feel the adrenalin coursing through his veins again, stronger this time with a peculiar thirst for blood. He didn’t want just anyone’s blood - he wanted Ymir’s, smeared on his hands.

 

Jean stared at Connie for a minute, coming to terms that he had the shitty end of the deal - Ymir may have been horrible, but she was sane at least, not to mention smart and handy. Jean started to wonder if trusting Connie was a good idea, but he had no other alternative - it was comply or die.

 

“We’re heading to Sina, because Ymir will be there,” Connie said, pacing around the room, “and we’ll definitely need to find a ride. We’ll wait here for an opportunity before leaving anywhere. There should be food in the kitchens of the hotel, and there’s no way those zombies can get in here easily, so we’re safe.”

 

Jean nodded mindlessly in agreement, the events slowly sinking in. Ymir had left with their only means of transportation, taking Krista along with her. Ymir had basically sentenced them to death, she had killed them by stealing their key to safety.

 

And he wouldn’t see Marco again.

 

At this, his breathing intensified, and his chest heaved with the effort to remain calm. Jean tried to slow his breath intake but it was damn near impossible with the way he was panicking.

 

“Marco!” Jean cried in anguish, “fuck you, Ymir!”

 

Connie turned to him in shock, but he soon nodded. “Yeah, get angry… that’s the only way to survive in this world.” He went to the window and stared down at the burnt rubber marks on the street. “We’re gonna get you, Ymir, and live peacefully in Sina. Just you watch.”

 

x

 

Out on the road, Ymir eased up on the gas when she noticed no one following them and sighed heavily in relief. It was getting easier to push the guilt down - she just had to stop thinking about it. She didn’t feel too much guilt anyway, since leaving them behind made her survival much easier, not to mention they were weighing them down with their conflicting viewpoints.

 

Glancing over at Krista, Ymir knew that the blonde was regretting leaving the boys behind. She could see the quiver of her lips, and could clearly pick up on her feelings. Ymir sighed in irritation and frowned; she was getting annoyed with the way Krista seemed so adamant on caring about others. This was a cruel world, where no one expected them to survive and no one would bother to help. She needed to explain this to Krista, or else the guilt would consume her and she would start to distrust Ymir.

 

“It’s a lot quieter in here without those two,” Ymir started, moving the car to the right to avoid a stray corpse. Krista whirled her head around, her eyes full of tears, her breath quick and her body quaking.

 

“Shut up, Ymir!” she shouted. “That’s such a mean thing to say, and totally insensitive! I can’t… I can’t believe I just…”

 

“You did the right thing,” Ymir continued, seemingly unaffected by Krista’s turmoil. Inside, her heart clenched and dropped to her stomach, much like the drops of salty tears falling from the blonde’s eyes. She tried hard to keep her aloof façade, however, and managed to convince Krista.

 

Krista narrowed her eyes at Ymir, clearly not believing that this person, this wonderful person, could be so heartless. How had this been the right thing to do? In a spurt of selfishness, she had thrown away the lives of two comrades in order to go with Ymir, her hero. She had basically left them to die, and saved her own hide instead. In her eyes, she was no better than the common murderer.

 

“The right thing would’ve been to convince you to take them with us,” Krista retorted, crossing her arms and staring out the window.

 

“Then I would’ve left you behind,” Ymir sighed, turning at the nearest corner. There was a gas station coming up, and they needed to refill before moving on. The rain made it impossible to see properly, and she switched on the windshield wipers to clear her vision.

 

Krista stared at Ymir in shock, blinking back her disbelief. “You really would’ve left me behind?” Her voice was small and scared, and it made Ymir cringe, but the brunette needed to drill this into Krista - she needed to harden her for the harsh reality.

 

“Yes.” No.

 

“Without a second thought? No regret or guilt?”

 

“Yes.” No!

 

“...left me for dead, and saved yourself?”

 

“Yes.” NO!

 

Krista stayed quiet and returned to looking out at the pouring rain through the window. She seemed to be in deep thought about something, and her eyes looked weary and heavy. Her whole body sagged in sadness, and her shoulders were shaking, as though struggling to hold the weight of the situation. The guilt was maddening, consuming, and it clouded her mind.

 

“Take me back,” Krista whispered.

 

“What?”

 

“I said… take me back!”

 

“The hell? No way! You wanted to come, you’re staying with me.”

 

“Then drop me off here. I can take care of myself.”

 

“Clearly, you can’t: it’s raining like crazy out there.”

 

“Clearly, I’m done with this! Drop me off right now!”

 

“No!”

 

“Why not? You had no problem telling me you would leave me behind to save yourself! Why is this so hard for you? With me out of the way, then it would be much easier for you to-”

 

“Shut up, Krista!” Ymir shouted, unconsciously accelerating the car, “just shut the hell up!”

 

Krista gasped and gripped the sides of her seat as her body was pushed back due to the speed. “Ymir, slow down, you’re going too-”

 

“What the hell do you know about me, huh? I don’t want to leave you behind! Is that so damn hard to believe?” Ymir continued angrily, gritting her teeth and gripping the steering wheel firmly and tightly. Another clap of thunder sounded in the distance, making the blonde jump in fear. The brunette’s movements were rigid, tense, and Krista could already feel the guilt now clawing up her throat for Ymir. She had been wrong in her assumptions about the freckled teen.

 

“I’m sorry, Ymir.”

 

“Sorry doesn’t cut it.”

 

“What do you want me to do, then?”

 

“Stop being such a priss and do things for yourself. Why can’t you see that Connie and Jean were slowing us down? We kept fighting all the damn time - if it wasn’t for baldy, you and I would have been somewhere safe by now.”

 

Krista had no reply and simply stared out the window to the side. She bit her lip to prevent sobs from slipping past her lips, but it was useless. Her silence felt like a thousand knives to Ymir’s heart, because deep inside, she wanted Krista to choose her over anyone. This wasn’t good, she was starting to depend on Krista’s interest in her and losing sight of herself. As soon as Krista reunited with her friends, she would forget all about Ymir, and that hurt the brunette deeply.

 

She was starting to care too much.

 

“I…” Ymir licked her lips and glanced to Krista. She needed to let this out now, because she didn’t want Krista to suddenly leave her. No, she wanted Krista to herself. The thought made her ease up on the gas and relax slightly: good, she was still as selfish as ever. “I want you with me.”

 

The blonde snapped her eyes to Ymir in shock and her mouth dropped open. “You want me here, with you?”

 

“I need company, or else I’ll go insane,” Ymir clarified, mentally slapping herself for such a lie. Krista knew right away that Ymir lied - it was in the way she clenched her teeth, the way she frowned at the distance, the way she couldn’t look Krista in the eye… it was time to be honest about her feelings.

 

Krista placed her hand on Ymir’s thigh. “I want to be with you, just because I want to,” she admitted, “I have no ulterior motive, but I always feel safe with you. I always want to be with you.”

 

The rain lightened, enough for Ymir to lower the intensity of the wipers. She spotted the gas station in the distance and slowed the car down to observe the area. So far, it appeared safe. Krista’s hand remained on her thigh even as she pulled in next to the gas pump. She parked the car and turned off the ignition, looking at Krista straight in her eyes. She lost herself in dazzling sapphires as she slowly leaned forward. Krista’s eyelids lowered as Ymir’s lips barely brushed over her own, her eyelashes feeling like a butterfly’s wings on her cheekbones.

 

“Me too,” Ymir mumbled against her lips. The brunette quickly pulled back and unclipped her seatbelt before exiting the car. The blonde blushed heavily and struggled to calm her racing heart. She put a hand to her lips, hoping Ymir was just as affected as she was.

 

Inside the gas station, Ymir ignored her blush as she flipped the switch for her gas pump and went around the store, grabbing water bottles and snacks on her way. She didn’t know when the next stop would be, or if they could get the chance to stop, so she grabbed a refillable gas container just in case.

 

Ymir passed by a rack for greeting cards and paused at the ‘Love’ section. With a glance towards the car, she felt another blush coming on and scowled angrily, pushing the rack to the floor and scattering the cards everywhere. The ‘Love’ section remained on top of all the other cards.

 

The tall brunette went back to the car to dump her looting in the back seat, passing a water bottle to Krista and taking one for herself. The blonde thanked her quietly, obviously shy and nervous, and Ymir had to grin. Wanting to fluster her even more, she reached back, pulled a promiscuous magazine and dropped it on Krista’s lap. The blonde shrieked and slapped Ymir’s shoulder, throwing the magazine in the driver’s seat. On the front was a naked woman, posing sexily with a baseball bat and baseball cap worn backwards.

 

“Ymir! Why would you get this?” Krista demanded, covering her face to hide her blush. The brunette grinned as she shrugged, filling up the car’s gas tank as she spoke.

 

“Have to entertain myself somehow. You’re not always gonna be awake, you know,” Ymir answered truthfully. Krista sighed and glanced down at her lap, the heat from her face fading over time.

 

“True,” she agreed.

 

“You don’t have a problem with me reading porn, do you?”

 

“Why would I?”

 

Ymir chuckled and began to fill the container she’d brought. “Nah, it’s nothing… why don’t you take a look and see if you like anything?”

 

“Ymir, no!”

 

Ymir laughed outright and placed the container in the trunk. “Well, it was worth a shot!” she yelled, getting back into the car and throwing the magazine in the backseat. Krista looked to the side and smiled up at Ymir. When the brunette glanced down at her, her breath caught in her throat and she looked away hurriedly. The blonde giggled and leaned her head against the window.

 

To Ymir, the world was a horrible place, full of atrocities and despicable people, including herself. However, there were a few good things that Ymir kept close to her heart, and Krista was one of them. It was still to be determined whether that was a mistake on her part, but for now, Ymir was content to say that Krista was an important aspect of her life - and hopefully Krista felt the same.

The brunette ignited the engine and backed out of the parking area. She returned to the highway and fiddled with the radio. Krista stayed quiet and watched her intently, which slightly unnerved her. Although no local stations were on, Ymir continued to play with it to distract herself from Krista’s piercing stare. It was like she was reading her soul and thoughts.

“What’s up with you staring at me like that?” Ymir finally asked, leaning back and glaring at Krista from the side. The blonde blushed and blinked rapidly, as though returning from a deep-thinking state, and shook her head.

“Uh, nothing… I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Stuff.”

“Like?”

Krista fidgeted and turned her head away. “I’m worried about my friends.”

Ymir sighed. “Listen, Jean and Connie will be fine… well, maybe not Connie but-”

“I’m not worried about them,” Krista interrupted, “I’m worried about Sasha, Mikasa, Annie and the others.”

“You should worry more about yourself. What did I tell you? You need to learn that not everyone is going to help you out, and most people are selfish as fuck.”

“What about you, then, Ymir? You keep saying you’re selfish, but all of your actions prove otherwise.”

“I’m selfish.”

“I don’t believe-”

“I’m _selfish_ , end of discussion.”

Krista shook her head and sighed, returning to staring out the window. Ymir was so difficult sometimes, but Krista was okay with that. She was okay with Ymir’s attitude, because she understood, and would not change her for anything.

Ymir glanced at Krista from the corner of her eye, her heart hammering in her chest and a strange feeling swirling in her gut. She swallowed nervously and tried to focus on the road, but her mind was elsewhere.

“I’m selfish…” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	9. Chapter 9

“I’m sorry.”

Words rang hollow in the late afternoon air, no one hearing and the sound merely disappearing with the strong breeze. Clouds in the distance, fat, greedy and hungry, bellowed together and lit the surrounding area with an electric white for but a second.

Annie stood stiffly in the chilly wind, staring down with wide eyes at the pathetic grave at her feet. A simple rock covered the slightly elevated soil and below the rock a withered purple hyacinth. Most of the curled purple petals had either scattered off of the flower and lay messily along the soil or they had been blown away with the wind.

“I’m sorry.”

Words were spoken again, the voice quieter, Annie’s eyes no longer wide in shock but lidded in shame and sorrow. She tightly gripped the stem of an anemone in her hand, and it too was purple. The flower had all but died already, since Annie had picked it a week ago but had not been able to place it down on the grave. She felt that she was obligated to, but with the way Mikasa had crumbled she couldn’t muster the strength.

It was a week after Levi and the others had died. Only a week. When it all happened everyone had been panicked and terrified, so many had simply split up and run. While Marco had dragged Eren out of the building the brown haired boy had been screaming in anguish about his lost best friend, Armin. The freckled boy had then struggled to get Eren to snap out of it, and then they both started running away.

Annie had watched them, she had heard the anger and anguish in Eren’s voice and the words he had said. She hadn’t been able to see more than their backs turning, because Mikasa had stumbled into her and she had to drag her off too. The moment Sasha had died, something in Mikasa had too. She lost all sensibilities and began to launch herself at the dead with her sword, slicing them into pieces. But they were just collecting and growing in numbers – where the hell they were coming from they didn’t really know. All Annie knew was that in this furious state Mikasa would get killed, so she had to forcibly stop the black haired beauty from fighting and pull her away to safety.

Mikasa had struggled, all the while yelling for Sasha and reaching out towards their fallen friend lying dead on the ground. The most agonizing thing was the sad smile left cold on Sasha’s lips, and in the instant Mikasa saw that she had completely stopped struggling.

They found a warehouse nearby and Annie had settled for getting them safely there. Luckily the place was empty inside and the only entrance to the building was a heavy metal door – that Annie had immediately closed and bolted shut once she and Mikasa were inside and safe.

From that moment on Mikasa simply curled into herself and her face remained vacant.

The next day they had returned and killed off the few dead still loitering around. It was a gruesome scene, since any bodies that had been there had been feasted on and many had been dragged off and had left a deep streak of red blood in their wake.

Annie had been absolutely relieved when Sasha’s body remained as it had been the previous day.

They then carried her body over to the nearest patch of grass and gently rested her down on it, then hurried into the building to retrieve Levi’s corpse and that of Armin, the smart blonde boy neither knew personally but had respected. It was out of that respect that they carried him and their teacher out to join Sasha by the grass.

Annie told Mikasa to keep watch, knowing that she didn’t need to because the blonde herself was on constant watch, but she could see Mikasa breaking a little more as she assisted in carrying the bodies and then as she stared down at the once vibrant face of their friend. While Mikasa accepted the job with nothing more than a swivel of her feet, Annie found a shovel and began to dig.

They buried them and found a rock to place on each grave. Unfortunately there was no way to write anything on the rocks, but Annie did offer a few words of respect to all three of them, and Mikasa had watched.

Before they left Mikasa had bent down by Sasha’s grave and tenderly placed a flower on top. Annie hadn’t even seen her pick it and didn’t know where she could have found it.

“I’m sorry, please forgive me,” she had said, tears wanting to break free but unable to.

Now Annie stood where Mikasa had knelt, a flower of her own gripped in her hand. There were a whole bunch of them planted nearby but Annie knew she couldn’t have placed it with the flower Mikasa had offered, and though the meanings went well together, the meaning of Annie’s flower would have devastated Mikasa more; fading hope and the feeling of being forsaken.

Annie had failed to protect her friend. She had forsaken Sasha, and with that knowledge she had begun to lose hope.

So she added her dying flower to the other and stood swiftly to leave. Mikasa had been left alone in the warehouse and she was fragile, so Annie needed to get back. It was also the gnawing guilt and anguish that Annie was trying so hard to fight. Of course, she wasn’t taking it as hard as Mikasa was. She could at least still function. The black haired girl had all but stopped working. All she did now was stare blankly into space and she had not spoken a word since they had buried their comrades.

The short blonde re-situated the bag on her back and then swiftly made her way back to Mikasa, a deep worry slowly seeding itself into her stomach. It pulled at her heart in an uncomfortable way.

When Annie returned she found Mikasa sitting by the fire, staring emptily into the flames the blonde had lit that morning.

“Mikasa,” Annie uttered, hoping that she would receive a response, but she didn’t. “I managed to find a shop that wasn’t looted. I got some water and food.” She continued to speak, no longer able to handle the stifling silence anymore.

Annie was a loner; she always had been despite how close she had been with her friends. She preferred solemn silence to anything else, but not now. Not after the world had gone to shit and everyone had died. And right now she really just needed Mikasa to talk to her so that she didn’t feel so scared and alone.

Annie sighed and set the bag down by the sleeping bags they used at night. She then went over to Mikasa and stood beside her. “How are you feeling?”

“…”

“Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“…”

Annie pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation and turned swiftly on her heels. “Fine, if you aren’t going to talk to me then I might as well scout the area again.” As she said this she made a move to leave but was stopped by arms suddenly wrapping around her waist from behind.

Mikasa released a shaky breath and pressed her face against Annie’s lower back. She trembled, so badly that the blonde could feel it.

“Mikasa?”

“Please don’t go,” Mikasa pleaded brokenly. She tightened her hold and shook her head from side to side.

Annie’s chest tightened painfully, enough to make her breathless. A small part of her shivered at the heat seeping in through her clothes from Mikasa’s warm face but she ignored the thoughts and gently extracted the black haired girl’s arms from around her waist, but did not release them.

“I won’t go.” Annie said softly, barely loud enough for Mikasa to hear, but she did. And when she did she glanced up at Annie with big, watery grey eyes. The sadness in them made Annie’s gut turn in guilt, anger and shame but she swallowed those feelings down. Mikasa was finally asking for comfort.

“Don’t leave me.” Mikasa begged, her voice weak. “Don’t leave me too.”

Annie immediately dropped down onto her knees and pulled the taller girl into her arms. It was strange, though. She had always figured that in a situation such as this she would be the one needing the comforting embrace of the other.

“There’s going to be a storm tonight so we should head to sleep early. Did you eat while I was away?”

They ended up together by the fire, Mikasa lying down with her head resting on Annie’s lap and the blonde’s hand running through her midnight locks.

“I did eat.”

Despite the shock Mikasa had forced herself to eat regularly and attempted to get enough sleep, though the sleeping part was the most difficult. When she closed her eyes all she could see was Sasha.

“Sh-she… she was so cheerful…” Mikasa suddenly uttered through dry, cracked lips.

Annie glanced down at her in surprise at first, but then she ceased in stroking her hair and placed a warm hand upon Mikasa’s shoulder. “She was.”

“I was right there, Annie. I was so close but I turned my back and that cost Sasha her life.” Mikasa’s words were hurried as her breathing quickened. The anxiety and grief washed over her so suddenly that she sucked in a powerful breath before she released it with an anguished sob. “I could have kept her alive. I promised her that I would.” Despite the tears now streaking across her face and the tremble in her voice, Mikasa’s words were clear and sharp.

Annie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and pulled Mikasa into a tight embrace. Her own tears rushed over her, and before she knew it Mikasa was sobbing against her neck and she was silently crying with her.

XxX

Ymir strutted down the street, keeping a diligent eye on her surroundings but not taking extra care to look. She scuffed her heavy boots on the tar road as she went, lifting the silence for a few seconds. In the distance she could see dark clouds approaching, and she sighed.

A week ago they had ditched baldy and horse-face and now they were currently in Trost. Ymir was out looting the area and gripped the backpack slung over one shoulder tightly. What it contained was vitally important, and when she remembered this she picked her pace up and hurried back to the apartment complex she and Krista had called home for the past few days.

Thankfully the roads were completely empty. No living or dead. Since the moment they had entered Trost they had spotted not one walking dead or survivor. Even after driving through part of the town, there were no zombies. Ymir was grateful, especially with the situation as it was now, but she surely didn’t take the peace for granted. She very much still kept a look out and gripped the big automatic gun in her free hand. The moment they had a safe house Ymir went to scavenge the nearest weapon shop. Most of the stuff had been taken, but few useful weapons had been left.

Ymir bounded the stairs up to the top floor, maneuvered around the barrier she had created by the top of the stairs and then hurried across the floor and then through the door. What she found once entering, however, didn’t impress her at all.

“Krista, what the hell are you doing?” Ymir immediately dropped the bag onto the nearest couch and then rushed over to pull Krista into her arms.

“Ymir, I’m fine.” Krista weakly protested but allowed her freckled saviour to pick her up and carry her through the apartment.

“You’re fine? You were leaning over the counter because you could barely stand. What compelled you to be so stupid?” Ymir was angry, and she made sure to let Krista hear it.

“I just wanted to make dinner for you before you got back. You’ve been doing everything for me since we got here.” She wheezed slightly when Ymir placed her down on the bed and did her absolute best to resist the intense urge to cough. Her lungs ached, though, and the difficulty to breathe wasn’t made any easier by how clogged up her nose was either.

“I don’t enjoy germs in my food. You probably coughed over all of it, didn’t you?”

Krista was about to reply that she absolutely hadn’t and wouldn’t but then she suddenly started to cough up a storm, this time not being able to control it. Ymir gently slapped her back as she coughed and bit her lip as she watched in worry. When Krista recovered she leaned heavily against Ymir, her forehead pressed to the exposed skin of her shoulder, and then she sighed.

“I’m fine Ymir, really.”

“Fine my ass. You just nearly coughed your lungs on me. Stay here.” Ymir pushed Krista onto the bed and covered her with the clean blanket, and then she hurried out of the room and returned seconds later with the bag she had left on the couch. “I finally managed to find some medicine. Give me some time to make something for you to eat and then you must take these pills and get some rest.” Ymir placed the small bottles of pills on the bedside table and gave Krista a stern look that just dared her to oppose. Krista didn’t.

“Thank you,” she said softly, her heart warming at the amount of worry in Ymir’s voice and at how she had been taking care of her.

When they reached Trost a week ago it had been raining cats and dogs. They ended up having to run in the rain and as a result of that Krista caught a cold. It was the only reason they were still in Trost, that and also the fact that there were no walking dead nearby. Ymir definitely didn’t want to leave for Rose while her blonde companion was still sick. If they ended up in a sticky situation with Krista being out of it then they would most definitely die together.

Ymir had realized since they left Connie and Jean that she definitely couldn’t leave Krista now. No matter how logical it seemed to ditch the dead weight and make her way to Sina, to safety, Ymir couldn’t. Her new goal was to protect Krista, and right now that entailed doctoring her back to full health. There was no way they could travel until she was better.

“Can I eat in the lounge with you, though?”

“Krista…”

“Please Ymir? I’ve been confined to this bed for days now. You can even carry me there if you want to.”

Ymir considered it. “Fine. But get some rest for now and I’ll wake you when the food is ready.” The freckled teen stood and leaned down to kiss Krista’s forehead, and then she disappeared out of the room to the kitchen area where Krista had managed to situate herself when the brunette had returned.

Surprisingly, Ymir was a decent cook.

Krista commented on that again when, an hour later, she and Ymir were seated comfortably on the couch together, Krista still wrapped in a blanket to keep her warm. The bowl in her hands, filled with chicken and vegetable soup, kept her hands warm and the steam rising up filled her senses.

“Mm, it smells amazing.”

Ymir grinned as she took a spoonful into her mouth. “And it tastes even better,” she commented.

Krista giggled and gently bumped shoulders with her tall hero, and then she focused entirely on filling her empty stomach. She might have been difficult about wanting to eat dinner with Ymir in the lounge but she really did want to recover as fast as possible. It felt awful to be more of a burden than she was by default, and though Ymir expressed that she really didn’t mind, Krista felt bad. They could have been in Sina by now, but they were stuck in Trost because of her.

“Is it still empty out there?” the blonde suddenly asked, still spooning mouthfuls of delicious soup into her mouth.

Ymir placed her now empty bowl on the table in front of them and then she sighed in delight and leaned back against the couch. Krista watched her with a blush and a small smile.

“Yep. No dead fucker in sight. Where the hell are they? It’s really freaky, but I’m relieved not to have them snapping at my ankles. Hopefully it will stay like this until we leave.”

Krista’s gaze dropped. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh please,” Ymir sat forward and gently flicked Krista’s forehead, “we’ve argued about this before. You didn’t intentionally get sick. Stop being stupid.”

“Sorry for being stupid then.”

“You’re forgiven. Can you finish that?” Ymir pointed a long finger at the half eaten soup. Krista had been staring at it since they started to talk.

“I don’t think so.” She tightened her hold on the bowl and sighed. “Even though you went to the trouble of making this for me I can’t get most of it down.”

Without warning Ymir snatched the bowl away and set it down beside hers. “Doesn’t matter. You ate enough for the pills. Here, take them now. They will make you sleepy though.” From the table Ymir retrieved a bunch of pills and a glass of water and then held them out to the blonde. She took them with a small murmur of thanks.

Once the pills were down and the glass had been returned to the table, Ymir rested on her back on the couch and pulled Krista onto her chest.

“Y-Ymir?” Krista exclaimed in embarrassment.

“Shut up and just enjoy the fact that I’m willing to let you fall asleep on me.”

Krista quieted and relaxed. She curled up slightly and snuggled her face against Ymir’s warm neck. The pulse there was strong and steady, and it set her at ease.

After a while of peaceful, warm silence, Krista decided to speak. “You know, I wonder if the others know about Sina.”

“The others?”

“My friends. I’m sure they’re alright, especially Sasha. She has Mikasa and Annie protecting her. There’s no way those two would let anything happen to her.” Krista sniffled. “I miss Sasha.”

Ymir shifted underneath Krista and gently lifted her face with a finger underneath her chin. “Krista, you need to realize that they might all be dead. It’s a miracle that we aren’t dead yet. There is more of a chance that they are dead than them heading for Sina.”

Krista’s eyes welled up with tears. “But… But Ymir…”

“Ah shit… don’t cry… I wasn’t trying to be mean.”

Krista buried her face one more and sniffled lightly. “I know, you’re just being honest and realistic.”

Ymir relaxed and tightened her arms around the blonde’s slackening body while she buried her nose in soft blonde hair. “Just get some rest and we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

Krista yawned loudly, her lips brushing hotly against Ymir’s throbbing pulse and making the brunette’s heart stutter and race. She swallowed hard and felt her chest warm when Krista stretched lightly and then completely slackened against her.

“Okay,” Krista mumbled, “’Night Ymir.”

Ymir chuckled lightly and pressed a kiss to her brow. “Yeah, yeah. Goodnight squirt.”

After Krista fell asleep Ymir allowed herself an hour to enjoy the blonde’s body atop her own, and then she took her to bed and cleaned the mess in the kitchen and lounge, took a shower, observed the area from the windows and then she returned to the bedroom and climbed into the bed beside the sleeping blonde.

Unconsciously Krista curled up against her and grabbed handfuls of her shirt. Ymir really didn’t mind.

XxX

Krista’s booted footsteps echoed loudly underneath her feet as she walked towards their car and deposited the last of the supplies she had been tasked with carrying. Shortly after, Ymir appeared beside her and dumped her armful of supplies into the trunk, too, that consisted of all of the new clothes they had snagged from a nearby clothes store. They were in the underground parking of the area, and luckily for them there still weren’t any zombies nearby. The entrance to the underground parking was shut, too, and Ymir had made sure to chain it closed before she and Krista had headed up the stairs. That way their car was safe and no zombie could sneak up on them from below.

It was almost as if a zombie apocalypse wasn’t happening, Krista mused as she glanced out over the nearly completely empty parking area. Besides their car there were only two more. It was obvious that everyone had fled when they could.

“Alright.” Ymir shut the trunk of the car and then turned to Krista. “Everything is all packed. Are you sure you’re fine to travel?”

Krista nodded. “I’ve been feeling perfect since yesterday. Those pills really worked.” And it was true. After taking the medicine and resting Krista woke the next day feeling almost completely better. When she woke the day after that her cold was completely gone.

“I’ll trust that you aren’t pretending. If you get sick while we’re leaving I’ll turn us right back around and get your ass back here, do you understand me?” Ymir stared sternly into Krista’s eyes and the short blonde nodded, swallowing lightly.

“Y-yes, I promise.”

“Good.” Ymir stepped away and turned to round the car for the driver’s side, but suddenly stopped when Krista’s voice pulled her back.

“Ymir?”

“What is it?”

Krista fidgeted nervously and stared down at her shoes, not willing to look up into Ymir’s face. “I… I’m super grateful for everything you’ve done Ymir, I really am. I don’t know where I would be without you. I’d probably be dead or undead.”

Ymir’s eyebrow lifted as she wondered where Krista was going with this.

“You really are smart when it comes to surviving, and you know what needs to be done. You don’t stop to hesitate or think of illogical things. I’m not even surprised that you’ve made it this far.” She clasped her hands together and then squeezed – hard. “Wh-what I’m getting at is, you would do better on your own.”

“Krista,” Ymir placed her hands on the blonde’s shoulders and made sure her grip was firm. “Are you saying that I should leave you here and head to Sina on my own?”

Trembling, biting her lip to keep from saying something selfish, Krista nodded. “I’ve been a bother from the start. I… I’m just scared that I’ll end up getting you killed because I’m not competent.”

Ymir snorted. “On top of being stupid, you’re annoying.” Krista flinched. “You aren’t completely useless to me. It’s true that I could have probably been at Sina by now, all safe and sound. But that isn’t what happened and I don’t dwell on the ‘what ifs’. You are here with me now and it is my job to keep us both safe.”

“But Ymir…”

“Just shut up,” Ymir hissed between her teeth. Her expression tightened and her jaw clenched, but her grip on Krista softened. “If I was by myself right now I would go crazy.”

“But still.”

“Are you really that oblivious?”

Krista blinked the small tears from her eyes and her heart performed a slight jump. “What… what do you mean?”

Ymir laughed before she pulled Krista against her and kissed her softly on the lips. It was a light peck, nothing scandalous, but it made them both blush and Krista immediately looked down at her feet when Ymir set her back down.

“What I'm saying is that I actually like you and want you with me. Are you still going to insist that I leave you behind?”

“No…”

“Good.” Ymir gently shoved Krista to the open car door and rounded the car to climb in by the wheel. “Besides, you really didn’t want me to leave you anyway. You just wanted to look selfless. I bet you would have pissed yourself if I did leave you.”

After climbing in and shutting the door Krista glanced over at Ymir with furrowed brows. “That’s not… I wouldn’t…”

Ymir just shook her head. She started the car, reversed and then drove until they had to stop by the closed garage door.

“I’ll have to get out and lift that thing myself,” Ymir announced as she pulled the break and slipped out of the car. “Grab that gun and keep it on your lap. If anything happens and I can’t get back to you, close the door and drive.”

Krista nodded mutely, wanting to protest in some way but deciding not to. She followed Ymir’s tall form with her eyes as the brunette walked over to the bottom part of the door that she had chained shut. In all honestly, Ymir looked less confident than usual. If anything, she almost looked scared. Though Krista couldn’t really tell if that was fear or simply worry.

Ymir’s throat went dry as she pushed the chain away and slipped her hands underneath the door, preparing to lift it. The thing was damn heavy so it would be a struggle, especially if there happened to be a few dead walking about on the other side. If there were then Ymir wouldn’t be able to see them and they could very easily crawl under and bite at her legs. By then it would be way too late, so Ymir’s heart hammered and her stomach coiled in anxiety. It was the fear of not knowing. If Ymir could see what was going on then she wouldn’t be so tense, but she couldn’t, and just imagining any zombies being on the other side while she was blind made her jaw clench hard.

It was definitely a long, agonizing moment for both of them as Ymir struggled to push the big metal door open and Krista watched her with her breath held. The blonde kept darting her eyes to the sliver of light slowly growing in length as more and more of the outside was revealed. When she could properly see outside she sighed in relief that there were no legs walking by.

Eventually Ymir pushed it high enough and then she hurried back to the car and jumped in with a huff of air. “Fucking hell,” she exclaimed with a swallow. That had honestly been the scariest moment since this had all happened, frankly. Maybe it was due to the fact that they hadn’t been witness to any gore or violence for a good few days. Either way, they were now safe and the drive to city Rose could finally begin.

“Ymir, you really are brave.” Krista leaned over and spoke as she pulled Ymir’s seatbelt down and clipped it in for her while Ymir drove them out and onto the street.

“I was shitting myself.”

“But still, I would never have been able to take that risk.”

Ymir ran her free hand through her hair and released a breath. “Life is always full of risks.”

They settled in to relieved, content silence as they drove through the town. But that steadily changed as they went deeper into the town and slowly the walking dead started to appear. At first it was only one or two, but as they neared the dead centre of Trost and they turned a corner, they were presented with a giant horde of groaning, hungry and angry zombies moving together and on top of each as if one giant throbbing mass of flesh.

Krista gasped loudly and covered her mouth with a hand while Ymir simply narrowed her eyes.

“So this is where these fuckers disappeared to.” She kept one eye on the road and one on the strange scene.

To their far left was Trost Mall, the only mall in the small town but one that was sufficient. It wasn’t all that big either. For some reason the dead had all gather there and were either attempting to crawl on top of each other to scale the wall or were spilling out of the windows and doors due to the sheer amount of bodies inside of the building. What the hell were they even doing there?

“What do you think drew them all there?” Krista asked, eyes still glued to all of those undead monsters. She grimaced slightly when the sound of their joined moaning and groaning pierced her ears, loud enough that even they could hear. Luckily they weren’t close enough to the mall for any of them to notice the car, but Ymir did step down on the gas and drive as quickly as possible. To be caught in something like that was an assured death.

“Don’t know,” Ymir responded once they were far away from the mall and nearing the exit to the town. “Maybe something on the roof was drawing them or something. Can’t be bodies, because there was nothing up there.”

“I did see a weird crate up there though.”

“Oh?” Ymir kept her gaze on the road and they finally left Trost for the highway. “Well I’m definitely not going to explore that place to find out.”

“True. I just wonder what those things are attracted to. It definitely isn’t anything like smell or sight.”

Ymir shrugged. “When we got that car battery back in Maria they seemed to react to me.”

“Yeah but they didn’t even know you were there until you stepped into their path. You made noise and they didn’t respond.”

“Then they saw me.”

“You were behind them and they knew immediately when you were there.”

Ymir grunted and chewed on her lip as she thought. “If they didn’t smell me or hear me, but me stepping out attracted them… then what is it?”

“Maybe it’s the heat?”

Ymir paused in her lip chewing to lift an eyebrow and look over to the blonde. “Heat?”

“Yeah. I mean, back at the school when we stepped away from the building all of the zombies reacted. Even if they could hear, we weren’t making any sound and they all had their backs to us. What if they can sense heat?”

“Like thermal vision or something?”

“The only way to really know is to test it. Maybe we can talk to the people in Sina about it if they haven’t figured it out already.”

Ymir nodded. “Yeah, we can do that. For now let’s not talk about things that make my head hurt.”

“What would you like to talk about then?”

Ymir thought for a second, and then she grinned naughtily and reached blindly into the back seat while still keeping her eyes on the road. When she pulled her arm back she tossed something at Krista and the blonde startled.

“Why don’t you read something in there to me?”

Krista glanced down at the porn magazine in her lap and blushed crimson. “Ymir!”

The brunette laughed loudly. “What? I can’t read it right now. Your reactions are funny too.”

Krista swallowed thickly and hesitantly opened the magazine. It was messy and mostly crumpled because Ymir had read through it countless times since she had snatched it and she really hadn’t taken good care of it. Krista took great care not to imagine Ymir acting out any lust she might have felt at the provocative images.

“F-fine.” she said.

Ymir choked on her tongue for a second. “No shit, seriously?”

Blushing but determined, Krista nodded. “This is my way of repaying you.” She wouldn’t look up because she could feel Ymir’s amused eyes on her.

Ymir blushed the slightest, never expecting the blonde to actually agree to it. The idea itself had only been a joke, but now she was all for it.

“Alright,” Ymir grinned. “Looks like this trip won’t be that boring after all.”

Krista’s ears began to burn and her heart throbbed painfully from her embarrassment. “Ymir!”

The brunette merely laughed in response, and then she quieted and waited for Krista to build the courage to start. When she did, Ymir was blushing the whole time she spoke. The ride to Rose definitely didn’t seem so long anymore.

XxX

Three days after finally letting Annie comfort her Mikasa stood in one of the aisles of Maria Mall. It was the town’s biggest mall, and unfortunately had a number of the dead loitering around. Mikasa managed to take a large number of them out as she went about collecting the items they would need.  After Annie held her long into the night and Mikasa spoke of all of her worries and fears, Mikasa had decided that acting like a traumatized child would do them no good. She still felt an intense pang of guilt in her heart and hadn’t yet properly grieved, but her sanity had returned to her and with that so did her determination to live. If Annie hadn’t been there Mikasa probably never would have gotten her head back in the game.

But she had, or at least she was trying to.

Since the others had all fled they decided to head for Sina, since that boy Marco had explained that Sina was now a safe haven for survivors. There was definitely still hope, and it lied in getting to Sina. Maybe once there Mikasa could grieve properly and eventually let Sasha go, but for now she had to push thoughts like that out of her mind and remain serious.

She was currently skimming through the pharmaceutical aisle and picking out the most important things such as bandages, disinfectant and medicine. Once that was done she headed out of the aisle, kicking a zombie out of the way as she did. She then followed down the side but paused when she spotted the bakery section. Old and stale bread still sat in the display area. Some blood had been splattered all over the glass, but Mikasa barely saw that as she focused on the bread.

Bread… just the word made her think of Sasha.

Mikasa immediately shook her head and then carried on until she found the aisle with canned food. She hurried to the items, glad for no walking dead nearby, and started picking through the different cans and shoving the ones they would use into the big bag on her back. When she was just about finished Mikasa noticed the image of a blonde woman on an advertisement by some of the canned jams. She had a bright, innocent smile, shoulder length blonde hair and big blue eyes.

The black haired girl covered her face with her hand and swallowed thickly as the familiar scene suddenly played in her mind of Krista failing to jump and then falling from the roof. Seconds after the image faded from her mind another one invaded, but this time it being of Sasha when she had been hiding in the classroom. Mikasa remembered with painful clarity how she had reassured Sasha that she would be alright and how she had promised to protect her.

The air escaped her lungs and for a second, she couldn’t breathe. She had lost Krista first, and then Sasha. Did she even deserve to still be alive? She made unfair promises to them and that was the reason for their deaths. She made them depend on her when she couldn’t even depend on herself.

Mikasa stumbled back with a gasp, her chest tightening painfully. She clutched at her shirt and gripped her face tightly with her other hand. Her back was now pressed to the opposite aisle and a few objects had fallen off of the shelf when she had bumped into it.

Could she even protect herself? What was the point, then? Mikasa’s breathing turned laboured as she felt an intense panic attack come on. Suddenly she was transported back to when she was a small child, faced with the trauma of watching her parents brutally murdered in front of her. At that time she had been so weak, so vacant, but so scared inside. It was only when she had met Annie in primary school that she had learnt to be strong.

Suddenly thinking of Annie brought Mikasa’s breath back, and she took a deep intake of air in relief. The tightness in her chest receded, and slowly she released her tight hold on the material of her shirt.

_Stop panicking, Annie is here. She won’t leave me. I can’t space out like this when she’s waiting for me._

Mikasa reassured herself and took a few more large breaths before she felt the trembling in her legs dissipate. She could properly stand again, and the earlier painful pounding of her heart had stopped. But when Mikasa heard a groan and her head shot up, her heart started to thunder all over again.

“Shit!” She wasn’t able to move in time as a zombie jumped at her and sent her falling to the ground, the thing draped over her body and snapping at her neck. In her stupid haze she had completely forgotten to keep watch of her surroundings.

Aside from the one on top of her three more zombies approached her from one side, and two from the other. Mikasa used all of her strength to hold the zombie back by pushing against its face, but the thing was unnaturally strong and the breath that escaped its mouth and washed over Mikasa made her crinkle her nose in disgust. With every last ounce of strength she had Mikasa shoved the thing off of her, straddled it and then smashed its head into the floor. She did it again and again until it stopped moving and then she shot onto her feet just in time to avoid another zombie that had dived at her. She kicked it in the face and turned to swing a hard punch at one of the three behind her.

The punch connected and the zombie’s jaw cracked noisily. It shot backwards and crashed into an aisle, sending a lot of cans falling to the ground. The sound echoed noisily in the big mall and Mikasa felt the echo ring uncomfortably in her ears.

Mikasa turned and kicked the one zombie into the second, sending them both crashing to the ground. She turned again, in time to dodge the jaws that were about to latch onto her shoulder. The creatures all moaned in sync, almost foaming at the mouth. Their white, empty eyes darted around in confusion when they fell but immediately locked back onto their living target.

There was one more still standing, but from the end of the aisle a group of many more passed by and suddenly turned when they somehow noticed Mikasa fighting others of their kind. Mikasa cursed softly as she grabbed the zombie in front of her and flipped it onto its back. She quickly turned to go the opposite direction and made to step over the zombies, but just as she thought she had gotten away one of them managed to grab her ankle and yanked her with so much strength that she immediately fell onto her stomach.

Mikasa’s heart dropped like stone, fear filling her veins like burning ice. She desperately kicked at the zombie holding on to her ankle, but it was just so strong and the others behind it were approaching fast. There was no way out. Mikasa had dropped her katana and she didn’t know where it was. The bag she had carried earlier had fallen too, and lay deserted in the middle of the aisle.

Her strength was leaving her and all Mikasa could do was hold the zombie back at her ankle with a foot planted against its face. She could feel its teeth close around her shoe and slowly sink into the rubber. Within seconds it would mostly likely either pull her shoe off or rip into it with its teeth.

This was definitely it. Just as Mikasa had remembered her reason to stay alive, her hope had been snatched away. Or so she thought.

Suddenly Mikasa’s ears rang painfully and she covered them as shot after shot blared from behind her. When the loud noises eventually stopped, Mikasa uncurled herself and crawled away from the motionless zombie that had held onto her.

“Mikasa, are you alright?” Annie hurried over to Mikasa’s side and let the gun hang loosely on her shoulder. She helped the black haired girl onto her feet and worriedly looked over her body for any injuries or bites. Mikasa immediately grabbed onto her shirt and clung desperately to it

“I’m fine.” Mikasa said, her chest still heaving but her heart now calming in relief. 

“You aren’t fine,” Annie snapped suddenly. “You just nearly got eaten. Why the hell didn’t you listen to me when I said bring a gun too? What happened?”

Mikasa bit into her tongue until it bled. “I lost focus. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry means nothing if you’re too distracted to keep watch around you. You promised me that you could handle this and you obviously lied.”

Annie was almost shouting, and when Mikasa took a good look at her face she could see the tensing of her jaw and the intense worry in her eyes.

“Don’t be so stupid or we’ll both be killed.” This time Annie’s voice was level. She had quickly drained her face of emotion and turned to leave, to look away from Mikasa’s helpless expression.

She was stopped when Mikasa tugged her back and pressed their lips together in a desperate, needy kiss. Annie was too shocked to respond at first, but the shock quickly faded away and her senses flooded with the warmth and softness of Mikasa’s lips, even though they were dry. Before it could get any more heated, Annie gently pushed Mikasa away and held onto her face. She looked into those grey eyes that were now drowned with rejection, and quickly leaned in to peck her lips.

“Making out in a place like this isn’t such a good idea. We should leave.” The blonde flicked her eyes to the side and Mikasa followed her gaze to see a new bunch of zombies heading their way. She did blush slightly at the words ‘make out’, but she nodded quickly and hurried to retrieve the bag she had dropped earlier.

Annie found her sword underneath one of the shelves and held onto it as she and Mikasa left the mall. Parked right outside was a truck that the two of them quickly climbed inside of.

When they decided to leave for Sina they found a suitable mode of transport, that being a truck – they could just stop on the side of the road when the need to rest took over, and they didn’t need to find any buildings since there was more than enough room in the back for both of them to sleep at the same time.

Mikasa threw the bag onto the backseat and started putting her seatbelt on, but Annie put a hand over hers.

“Why don’t you rest for a bit?” She could see the exhaustion on Mikasa’s face.

“I’d rather stay in front with you.” Mikasa didn’t even feel embarrassed at admitting that. Right now Annie was her only rock. She needed her.

Annie’s eyes softened slightly and she started the engine, inwardly thanking herself again for being the rebel she had been and learning how to drive on her own.

“Okay.” she said simply and pulled out of the parking lot.

She stole glances at Mikasa a few times and felt her stomach both sink and flutter with butterflies. She recognized the feeling; it was something she had felt towards Mikasa even before the end of the world began.

It was only now that it turned into something more, something deeper. The way the world was, they were the only ones they could trust. If desperately clinging onto each was the only way to survive, then Annie decided she didn’t mind. As long as it was Mikasa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	10. Chapter 10

A freckled boy sighed and shifted in his position once more, desperately waiting for his comrade to return from the house he had entered. He’d been tasked with keeping watch of the area, for entering a house in this hell was dangerous if one didn’t have a secure exit. He fingered the grooves in his semi-automatic rifle and sighed once more when he spotted a limping mass of flesh turn a corner. Pulling out a pistol, he equipped the silencer and held his breath as he aimed the barrel of the gun at the zombie’s head.

With tears in his eyes, he pulled the trigger, closing them right after and thinking of Jean. “Jean… look at what I’ve become,” the boy choked out, putting a hand to his mouth in horror when the corpse collapsed in a pile of blood, bile and rotted muscles.

“Hey Marco, we can go now… Marco?” another taller boy with striking green eyes placed a hand on Marco’s shoulder in concern, but the boy quickly shrugged it off and wiped the tears from his eyes. He didn’t need another lecture from him.

“You got what we needed, Eren?” Marco asked instead of answering his comrade’s queries. Eren frowned but nodded solemnly.

“We should be able to survive for another day or so with the food I found. I’m just glad we were able to change our clothes… they reeked of blood. The weapons are pretty helpful too.”

“Yeah.”

Eren frowned deeper but shrugged. “So, now that we’ve survived for some time now, I think we ought to get to Sina wouldn’t you say?”

“Jean should be there…”

“Yeah, Jean might be there.”

“Jean _will_ be there,” Marco corrected, trembling slightly. He replaced the pistol in his holster - which they had found on the corpse of a police officer - and gripped his rifle tightly in his arms. The boys started to walk down the street, staying in the shadows and remaining vigilant. They knew not what to expect anymore.

“Maybe my dad too… he had to leave on a business trip the other day, so I never got to say goodbye. I... I don’t know about my mom though. But I’m sure Hannes took care of her for my dad,” Eren thought aloud, tapping his chin. Marco felt guilt creep up his throat, since so far he had prevented Eren from looking for his mother out of fear for himself. If Eren went berserk, then he would go on a killing rampage until he died and would leave Marco alone. The worst thing to be in a situation like this was to be alone.

“We just need some form of transportation,” Marco said, wincing as he noticed the hordes of undead clawing fruitlessly at the vehicles parked on the side of the road. He gripped the gun closer to him and pulled his coat tighter around him. Watching his breath puff up in front of  him, Marco realized then that it was slowly getting colder in this region.  
“Yeah... transportation... holy crap! Look at that car, it’s totally flipped upside down!” Eren exclaimed, running ahead. Marco sputtered and ran after him, calling for Eren to slow down and wait. Eren ignored him and grinned when he saw the car completely scrapped up.

“Damn... this shit gets crazier the longer it drags on, right Marco?” Eren laughed humourlessly.

Marco knew not what to say, so he remained silent and watched as Eren inspected the vehicle. When the boy made it to the driver’s side, Marco heard the sound of retching. He rushed to Eren’s side and rapidly turned his head away from the half-eaten cadaver sticking out from the window.

Eren wiped his mouth with his sleeve and backed up slowly. He looked up and squinted at the lump on the top of the car. Eyes widening in realization, he shoved his weapon to Marco and scaled up the vehicle, reaching the decaying corpse of his father.

“Dad!” Eren cried out in anguish. His father had a bloody arc from ear to ear under his chin, and a knife in his hand that was covered in blackening blood. His eyes were open and Eren knew that his father hadn’t had a peaceful death. He had been wracked by grief before he lost all the life in him, it was apparent with the way his face was twisted in a painful expression, his eyes wide with horror.

“FUCK! DAD!” Eren screamed, punching the metal under him. He ignored the throbbing and bleeding of his knuckles and slowly stood up. Looking down at the corpse, thankfully not infected, Eren wondered how many more of his precious people would die before him. First Krista, then Connie, Levi, Armin, Hannes - he’d seen his driver’s licence resting among the shattered glass - and now his father. Was his mother dead too? Or had she been eaten and turned into one of _them_?

There was still lingering guilt at having lost Armin, his best friend, his pal... it was his fault that his buddy had died, because he had been too obsessed with death to remember he was still alive. He didn’t even deserve to live anymore. With one last glance at his father, Eren jumped off the car and marched up to Marco. He snatched both rifles from his arms and made sure they were loaded before equipping himself.

“I love you dad, but I’m being consumed by rage right now,” Eren muttered, “these fuckers have TO DIE!” he shouted furiously.

Marco stepped back and paled. “Eren?”

“Marco, go find some survivors, and stay with them. Tell them about Sina, and get there to find Jean. You’re fast and light, those zombie bastards will never catch you. I have some shit to take care of right now, don’t worry about me,” Eren told him. He put a knife in his mouth sideways and ignored Marco’s pleas to turn around and leave with him.

  
“EREN NO!” Marco cried. He ran his hands through his hair, suddenly feeling the panic rise in him. What would Jean do in this situation? Jean would probably slap the hell out of Eren and talk him out of it, because he knew about human weaknesses better than anyone. Jean took his faults and made the best of them… but Marco wasn’t like that. He didn’t have Jean’s talent. With a heavy heart, the freckled teen fled in an alley and ignored Eren’s screams and the sounds of bullets.

He ran and ran and ran, finally tripping over a broken street light on the road and skidding across the asphalt. He choked back a sob and lied there, curling into a ball and wishing for Jean’s strong arms around him. Jean would know what to do, he always did. And Reiner and Berthold, too. Marco felt liquid drip onto his head and chuckled bitterly. It seemed the world knew just how depressed he was.

Suddenly, a rotten stench filled his senses, and he blinked as he felt a continuous stream of liquid flow down his face. Rain didn’t fall in streams… it fell in drops. Marco swallowed, eyes wide and heart skipping a beat as he looked up into half the face of a child. The zombie tilted its head curiously, but could do no more as a baseball bat slammed into its head and sent it flying.

Marco grasped the hand flung in his face and pulled himself up with the help of the stranger. Friendly brown eyes welcomed him, and the stranger pulled him along. “C’mon, I’ll get you out of here!” the person, now identifiable as female, exclaimed. Marco shook his head and followed, and then stopped cold as ice filled his being. Eren. Eren was still behind!

“W-wait!” Marco argued, “there’s still my friend back there…”

“Forget about him!” the lady yelled, “he’s long gone.”

Marco shuddered and nodded, feeling horrible but accepting his survival with a grain of salt. Eren had been stronger than him, but he had not been smarter.

In the distance, there was a bus filled with passengers. Marco finally noticed the large bag the woman had over her shoulder, most likely filled with food. The woman shoved Marco onto the bus and threw the bag to a bulky man, who opened it and began to hand out the food items to the passengers. There weren’t many, but it was still a decently-sized group.

“Are you alright? Any bites?” the woman asked him gently.

Marco blinked and shook his head. “No, no bites, and I’m fine.... it’s just…”

“It’s just that your friend provided us with a good distraction,” the woman interrupted, “he saved all of our lives, his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”

Marco kept quiet, knowing that Eren had not done what he did to save these people. He had done it to satisfy his own thirst for vengeance.

“Anyway, we’re heading to Sina. Wanna come along?” the woman continued, smiling, “I’m Hanji by the way.”

“Marco, and I’d appreciate the help,” Marco answered, smiling and shaking the woman’s hand. The bus driver smirked and ignited the engine, stepping on the gas and moving out onto the road. Marco took a seat close to the window and stared out dully.

“I’m sorry Eren.”

Eren lied on his back on the cold, hard pavement, staring up into nothing. He had run out of ammunition a while ago, and his knife had broken mid swing in the biggest showdown since his brawl with the school bully a few years back. He had managed to get away from the horde, but his left shoulder had been chewed off and he could already feel his heart begin to slow down.

The sun peeked through the dark clouds, and it made Eren smile gently. He reached a hand up toward it, and, as though capturing sunlight between his fingers, clenched his palm tightly. With a sigh, he dropped it back down. He hoped he’d get to see Armin and Levi when he died, just so that he could say he had been a badass before his death.

Just as his eyes closed for the last time, Eren could’ve sworn he saw his mother leaning down, almost as if to place a final, loving kiss on his neck…

x

The rumble of the truck’s engine soothed both the driver and the teen sitting in the passenger’s seat. So soothing, in fact, that Mikasa had been sleeping for an hour now. Annie glanced at Mikasa’s sleeping form lovingly and smiled to herself slightly. In these moments of silence and peace, she allowed herself to be vulnerable and to feel. She allowed herself to appreciate the feelings she had, and didn’t mind that they burned straight through her chest, past her stomach and to her toes. She didn’t mind the effect Mikasa had on her; in fact, it gave her drive, a determination to get to Sina as soon as possible, and safely.

Right now, they had to pass by Trost in order to get to Sina quickly. If they could cut through both Trost and Rose within the week, they’d be finally safe. Their guns rested in the space between them and their blades strapped to their sides - they needed a backup for when they finally ran out of ammunition.

Mikasa shifted slightly in her sleep and muttered something briefly, before suddenly jolting awake. Annie flicked her eyes to the side quickly then returned them to the road. It wouldn’t be wise to get distracted at a time like this.

“Are you okay? How was your sleep?” Annie asked quietly, aware that there was a possibility Mikasa wouldn’t answer at all.

“I slept fine,” Mikasa answered tersely, glaring out the window. She crossed her arms and legs, pursing her lips as she thought about the dream she’d had. Annie had… along with Krista and Sasha… with a painful jerk of her heart, Mikasa cursed as Sasha’s death filled her conscious again.

“It’s Sasha isn’t it?” Annie sighed.

 _And you…_ Mikasa wanted to say, but kept quiet. She nodded in affirmative and refused to say anymore. Annie bit her lip and clenched the wheel tightly. If Mikasa was going to be stubborn and not say anything, that was fine by her. But… Annie glanced to the side again, not happy with the way bags seemed to grow under Mikasa’s eyes, highlighting her sad, empty eyes. Mikasa was not allowed to grieve anymore - she’d done enough of that to almost get herself killed.

The blonde moved one hand from the steering wheel and gently placed it on Mikasa’s thigh, softly stroking her toned muscles. Mikasa’s heart skipped a beat and she raised an eyebrow at Annie’s uncharacteristic forwardness.

“Stop worrying and focus on staying alive,” Annie muttered, “and don’t die.”

Mikasa glared at her and returned her gaze to the window. She put her hand to her lips to conceal her smile.

“I won’t die.”

“Good, because you’re going to drive for me until we get to Trost,” Annie smirked, amused at Mikasa’s bewildered look.

“There is no way I can-”

“I haven’t slept in hours.”

Mikasa blew air between her teeth when the guilt tactic was used against her. “Alright, park for a bit so we can switch,” the black-haired teen ordered.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Annie snapped. Despite what she said, the blonde pulled over and put the truck in park. Both girls unclipped their seat belts and exited the truck. They passed by the front of the vehicle and just as Annie passed by Mikasa, the taller girl grabbed her wrist and spun her around. She gently pushed her against the hood of the car and leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. Annie’s eyes widened but she slowly relaxed and kissed back, resting on her elbows.

Mikasa pulled back and bit down on the blonde’s bottom lip teasingly, smirking at the blush on her face and pulling away completely to get to the driver’s seat. Annie slammed her fist on the hood and stalked to the passenger’s side. She avoided Mikasa’s teasing gaze and closed her eyes, ignoring the hand pushing her hair back almost lovingly.

The black-haired beauty shifted gears and returned to the road, her smile fading as the clouds gathered.

x

Hours passed before they finally reached Trost. With a small break in between, the girls had managed to reach the town with little to no problem at all. Now they simply had to bypass the hungry undead crawling around. Well, they could try, but it was far too dark to actually see anything, even with the high-beam headlights.

Mikasa pulled in near an apartment complex and parked the car. She turned to Annie, who was wide awake and staring straight ahead, and drummed her fingers on the wheel. “So? What do we do now?”

“We go in the apartment.”

“There’s no need to enter if we have a-”

“Mikasa, look in front of you.”

Mikasa turned and cursed when she saw the horde approaching them. They had probably made too much noise… it was a good thing her headlights were still on. “We need to figure out their trigger…” Mikasa muttered.

Annie rolled her eyes and unclipped her seat belt. “Kill the engine and let’s get out of here.” Mikasa nodded and followed Annie’s orders. The duo exited the truck, careful to avoid the horde and slashing any strays in their way. They paved a path to the apartment complex and kept their blades close… Suddenly, Mikasa was struck with an odd feeling of déjà vu – they had been in an apartment before…

The black-haired girl gasped as the air in her lungs left her. Annie had grabbed her shirt and pinned her to the wall, glaring fiercely up at her and forcing her knuckles deep against the centre of her chest. “Stop it!” Annie growled, “stop thinking of her. Do you want to get us killed? I loved her just as much as you did, but I’m not crying like a mad fool anymore.” Her grip softened, as well as her expression, and she backed up a bit as she let go of Mikasa’s shirt. “Please Mikasa, let her go. I’m sure she’s forgiven you.”

Mikasa stared at the ground, memories surfacing of the time she’d broken down in front of Annie, of when Annie had comforted her and provided a stable sense of security. That feeling was gone now, but it was replaced by something much more tangible and real. Something they both shared – Mikasa could feel it deep in her gut.

Mikasa brushed past Annie and tightened her grip on her blades. The blonde rubbed her arm where Mikasa had skimmed by her and felt the tingles travel up and down her body. Gritting her teeth, she stomped up to her and opened her mouth to deliver a few choice words, but they were swallowed by the taller girl’s impatient lips.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Mikasa admitted. She paused, and after a while said, “this is the only time you’ll hear that from me.”

Annie put a finger to her lips and smirked. “I don’t think so, Ackerman,” Annie chuckled darkly.

They both reached a room that seemed to have been recently occupied. It was the perfect place to stay, because it provided an excellent view of their truck - which was being prodded at by curious lumps of post-rigor mortis victims. It was also compact enough to be able to live in comfortably while having enough elbow space.

The duo explored the flat and arranged their things around. They placed whatever they had to eat in a cool area, lit some candles for light, and decided on shower turns. As Annie stripped behind the bathroom door, Mikasa continued to explore. She entered the cupboards, the wardrobes, sifted through books and poked her katana under the bed. When she pulled the blade back, it came with a red cloth caught on its tip. She picked it up curiously and examined the material.

With a sudden realization, she gasped and quickly searched for the sure-fire way to confirm her suspicions. Brushing her fingers over the embroidered initials visible under the candlelight, Mikasa’s eyes welled up with tears and she collapsed on the floor in relief.

Annie exited the bathroom, towel wrapped around her wet body, and rushed to Mikasa’s side when she noticed the tall girl clutching something red to her chest. “Mikasa, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” Annie asked, trying to keep the desperate concern out of her voice.

“Krista…” Mikasa gasped, “Krista!” Mikasa said no more and bit her lip harshly. Annie felt a tug on her heart at the mention of her blonde friend and frowned heavily.

“What about Krista?” Annie pressed.

“This is her necktie - it has her initials that she put on there in case she ever lost it,” Mikasa chuckled bitterly, tears finally falling from her eyes, “I always teased her about it, but it’s actually come in handy now.”

“If her necktie is here… then that means…” Annie’s eyes widened and a sudden spark of hope hit her chest. Krista was alive! She had survived whatever catastrophe had befallen her and had managed to live until now. They had to find her, and their best bet would be to get to Sina.

“We need to get to Sina now,” Mikasa announced, wiping her tears away and setting the necktie on the bed. “There’s a high chance that Krista is there, and I need to keep at least half of my promise.”

“I agree, but let’s stay the night. I don’t think it would be much use to stab in the dark.”

“Point taken, I’ll shower now.” Mikasa turned stiffly and marched to the bathroom. She shut the door behind her, but not before looking behind her and locking eyes with Annie. The blonde scowled and ignored the heat in her cheeks as she worked on drying herself and putting on her underwear.

Annie sighed as she gently sat on the bed, drying her hair with the towel. She listened to the shower running in the bathroom, and imagined Mikasa in there, washing her hair and rubbing a sponge all over her body. With a groan, the blonde turned on her side and curled up into a ball. The warm feeling in her chest spread through her body like wildfire, making her feel uncomfortable but so good as well.

She ignored the weird butterfly sensations in her stomach and reached for Krista’s necktie. The news of the blonde greatly increased their morale, and gave them a goal to strive for. Not to mention, their beloved friend was still alive. Annie knew that once found, she wouldn’t be allowed out of their sight again. What would Krista think about what she and Mikasa have? Annie mused to herself on the possible reactions the blonde would have.

_“Oh my goodness, congratulations!”_

_“I knew it all along - Sasha and I had a bet on who would confess first.”_

_“You two are so cute together!”_

No matter how hard she tried, Krista’s image appeared distorted in Annie’s mind, corrupted and disfigured due to the time. What day was it? How long had it been since this whole thing started? How long did they have left? Annie knew those questions would be impossible to answer now, and she much preferred to focus on her survival than a silly man-made concept like _time_.

She lied back and threw the soggy towel to the floor. She set the necktie on the night table, beside the candle, and breathed heavily through her nose. The door opened then, and Mikasa stepped out, steam surrounding her finger and moulding to her body as she glided across the room. The tall teen dropped her towel as she dressed, and Annie turned her eyes away in modesty, though her cheeks held a tint of rouge.

The blonde turned her head when she heard a loud noise and watched as Mikasa went around barricading the room. She pulled the covers over her form up to her nose and closed her eyes when she felt the bed dip. The heat from the candle beside her on the night table soothed her.

“Annie?” Mikasa whispered. Annie opened her eyes to see the moonlight shine across Mikasa’s face, illuminating her coal eyes so that they looked like jet diamonds. Her lids lowered, the black-haired beauty moved across the bed so that she kneeled beside the blonde.

“Mmm?” Annie groaned. Mikasa smiled and Annie felt her breath leave her lungs in one fell swoop. The girl above leaned over her, lowered her face to hers and reached for the candle with one hand.

“Good night.” She pinched the flame and enshrouded the room in darkness.

x

“Ymir, what day is it?”

“I have no fucking clue.”

“It feels weird not keeping track of time.”

“What do you mean? We’ve got a clock right here.” Ymir grinned and smacked the LED display under the radio interface. The lights burnt out just then, and Krista giggled when Ymir freaked out and smacked it again.

“Goddamn it,” Ymir swore, shaking her head, “just my luck.”

“You didn’t have to smack it.”

“I was trying to prove a point.”

“Well, if proving your point means burning out our only means of keeping track of time, then you did a pretty good job.”

“Shut up, brat, you’re getting sassier every day.”

“I have quite the teacher-”

“-who will rub her knuckles across your head if you don’t shut up.”

“I hate it when you do that!” Krista whined.

“Which is why I do it,” Ymir chuckled.

“So mean!” Krista stuck her tongue out and yelped when Ymir pinched it.

“Just for you baby,” Ymir laughed, winking when Krista puffed her red cheeks.

The ride passed in comfortable silence, with Ymir occasionally smacking the LED display in hopes of bringing the time back. Eventually, Krista told her they could just use the sun because she was being annoying and noisy. Ymir grumbled and reluctantly agreed.

Eventually, they reached a hick town in the middle of nowhere. There were little houses, one gas station and convenience store combination, an old, decrepit church, and a fancy building they both assumed to be a government office. Ymir checked the fuel gauge and sighed when the needle neared the ‘E’.

“Well, I guess we’re gonna stop here for a while,” she explained to Krista as she pulled in near the gas station.

“Alright…. um... Ymir, can I go sightseeing for a bit?”

“The hell… what do you think this is? A field trip?”

“No! I just... ok, I just want to visit the church.”

Ymir choked on her spit and laughed until she had tears in her eyes. “You’re not really gonna pray to some god… isn’t this proof that god doesn’t exist?”

“I’m not going to pray,” Krista reassured, “I just want to explore for a bit and stretch my legs. We’ve been sitting in the car for _hours_ , and I need to breathe a bit after reading that um... that m-magazine.” Krista blushed suddenly at the memory while Ymir grinned teasingly and looked back. That had been quite the adventure - Krista had gone through the whole thing without fainting once. At some point, she had even complained about discomfort in her lower regions, something that Ymir had had a hard time forgetting, much less preventing her own ‘discomfort’.

It allowed them to get closer on an intimate level, and inspired deeper feelings to brew between them. However, Ymir knew that this was not the time to initiate anything beyond what they had now - they could save whatever they wanted to do until they got to Sina in one piece.

The magazine rested in the back seat, flipped open to an advertisement for adult schoolgirl uniforms that Ymir had found incredibly amusing. The brunette examined the advertisement before turning to Krista and observing her neck. The blonde felt the blush creep along her face the longer Ymir stared.

“W-what?” Krista murmured, frowning and clenching her fists.

“Don’t you have a necktie?” Ymir questioned suddenly. Krista jumped and looked down, putting her hand where her red necktie was supposed to be. She gasped and looked around the car, trying to find it.

“I did!” Krista answered, still desperately searching.

“Hey- hey calm down! It’s cool, why are you so worried over a damn tie?” Ymir muttered, grabbing Krista’s shoulder.

“It’s not just a ‘damn tie’! It’s... it’s my tie,” Krista whispered after her outburst, “this school uniform is all I have left of my old life, and it’s slowly being lost over the course of our adventure.”

“Does that mean you’ll be naked when we reach Sina?”

Ymir screamed in pain when her lower teeth were forced to greet her upper ones, her tongue in between. Her head slammed against the window and Krista nursed the crown of her head where she met Ymir’s hard chin.

“Shut up Ymir!” Krista shouted hotly, “I was being serious and... and you just-” Krista sniffed and exited the car, running off to the church.

“Krista wait!” Ymir sighed and rubbed her bruised chin. “At least take a gun with you, idiot.” The brunette climbed out of the vehicle and went inside the convenience store to unlatch the switch for the fuel. On her way, she grabbed a map and flipped the radio on - they needed to at least know how things were in Sina. She waited for the commercials to pass, noting that they seemed native to Rose City, and grabbed a coffee for her trouble.

_“...and we are back to the scheduled newscast. Sina is still in good shape, though her population is steadily growing as more and more survivors pour in from different parts of Japan. Japan itself has been under emergency solitary confinement for three days now, and all imports and exports have been cancelled for the time being. The government has been evacuated to a safehouse, where they organize rescue efforts and lead the country from there…”_

“Of course a bunch of middle-aged wimps get the royal treatment, while the country they are ‘leading’ is slowly being eaten alive… literally,” Ymir complained, sipping her coffee and leaning against the counter.

_“Supplies are being rationed as there is now a shortage in food being harvested. The mortality rate has been increasing exponentially since the beginning of this catastrophe, police officials report, though the exact number cannot be confirmed due to the circumstances. Officials estimate at least a staggering ten million deaths in all parts of Japan, though concentrated urban areas such as Maria and Trost have higher death tolls. In Rose there is a- oh my god! Help! Hikari, no! HELP! NO GET AWAY FROM ME NO-”_

Ymir dropped her coffee and felt her blood run cold at the static emanating from the radio. The anchor had been killed, on air, in Rose City. She knew the disease was spreading but holy shit Rose of all places had its most secure areas breached. Going through Rose while there was too much trouble there would not be wise. They would have to go around it, which meant…

She opened up her map as she walked back to her car. Her hands trembled and she realized she was afraid. Hearing that man die live, in an area which was supposed to be safer than Trost and Maria, was a frightening experience. She had been getting too comfortable with their meagre and cheap car - they needed heavier equipment and needed to hone their skills.

The quickest detour around Rose was through the forests, which was perfect for what Ymir had in mind. She refilled her car’s gas tank and replaced the pump in its socket. She leaned against the car and sighed as she drummed her fingers against the door. Where the hell was Krista, and what was taking her so long? She hadn’t heard a scream, so she must be alright.

With a grumble, Ymir opened the door, grabbed her gun and slammed the door shut. She swung it over her shoulder and dragged her feet to the measly church. It looked more like a chapel than anything, but the big sign declaring its ‘church status’ seemed to defy that rational thought.

Ymir pushed the doors open with her gun and winced as it creaked loudly, echoing in the hall. She allowed the sunlight to filter through and carefully observed her surroundings. The church looked worse on the inside than the outside. The stone pillars on the sides were cracked and broken, and the equally stone pews had claw marks and chunks missing. In fact, there were actual people still sitting in a prayer position, though Ymir knew from their stench and the blood stains that they were all dead- recently dead. She gripped her gun tightly as she passed by the dead that had sacrificed their last living moments praying to a god that most likely never existed.

Looking ahead, there was a large cross that was flipped upside down and missing an arm. It too had blood stains coating its edges. There was also an opened cage in the corner that contained chunks of flesh and rotting meat. Ymir had unpleasant theories floating in her head before she could stop them.

Finally reaching the front of the church, Ymir spotted Krista standing next to the heavily decorated body of a man. Ymir immediately knew he was a priest, and as she approached him she recognized him instantly. He was not just any priest, but Pastor Nick, the deranged lunatic who had prophesied the apocalypse since he had first been given the bible to read as a child.

“My family used to be very religious,” Krista said out of the blue, still looking down at the dead pastor. Ymir grunted to show she was listening and stood close to Krista. Their bodies touching was Ymir’s equivalent to a warm arm around her shoulder, and it made the blonde smile slightly.

“My dad was a frequent visitor to church. He sang the hymns, he gave coins when they asked, he always talked about god - but he never practiced what he preached. He owns a copy of the bible that sits in the shelf in his study collecting dust from the last twenty years. He’s a hypocrite,” Krista paused, then turned to Ymir, “most people are.”

Ymir scratched her head and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

As though dissatisfied, Krista turned back to Pastor Nick with a sigh. “People are only religious because they’re afraid of dying. That’s how I know my father is still alive - he fears death more than anything.”

Ymir said nothing but kicked the priest’s corpse. “Son of a bitch deserves it,” Ymir muttered, “he was charged with human sacrifice a few years back, but the church saved his ass and put him here instead, in the middle of nowhere.” Ymir looked around and pulled Krista away from the pastor. “I wonder what happened here exactly…”

Krista pointed at the cell in the corner. “They had a zombie here,” she explained, “they were trying to perform a ceremony for immortality, but when they let the zombie go, they were all killed.”

“Wait, so, are you saying these dead people are all..?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why aren’t they attacking if they are?”

“Maybe it takes a while for them to turn?”

“Then we need to get the hell outta here… right now! Field trip’s over Krista!”

Ymir grabbed Krista’s hand to run but something had latched onto her ankle. With a glance behind her, Ymir saw that Pastor Nick was now beginning to enjoy his newfound immortality. She pointed her gun at his head and released a heavy load of bullets into his face. She kicked his hand off her ankle and started to run again.

As they ran down the aisle, the dead slowly rose row by row, groans filling the air and feet dragging across the floor. Ymir cursed loudly and made Krista hold her gun as she lifted her and sprinted out of the church. Krista held on tightly and breathed heavily against Ymir’s pulse. The brunette grit her teeth and focused on the steady rhythm of her feet.

The blonde glanced over Ymir’s shoulder and gasped. “Ymir they’re catching up!” she cried frantically.

“Then shoot them!” Ymir yelled, “I’m kinda busy right now!”

“I... I can’t!”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Well if we get eaten then you sure as hell don’t mean that.”

“Ymir just get us to the car!”

Ymir rolled her eyes and pushed her legs harder. “You need to shoot them to distract them!”

Krista closed her eyes tightly then opened them, “Okay, okay, fine! Just… don’t make any sudden movements.” The blonde aimed the gun at the horde chasing after them and pulled the trigger. Bullets flew out rapidly, puncturing the decaying flesh of the walking cadavers and slowing them down.

“You did it?”

“I did it!” Krista exclaimed happily.

“Good job, squirt,” Ymir smirked and laughed as she reached the car. She opened the door for Krista and shoved her in, sliding across the hood to reach the driver’s side and getting in herself. She started the engine and floored the gas, wheels screeching and rubber burning. Looking behind her, Ymir laughed in delight when the distance between them and the horde grew larger and larger.

“Take that you fuckers,” she snarled. Just as she turned around, Krista screamed and closed her eyes when the car flew through a bloody zombie and split its body into tiny irreparable pieces. Its blood splattered all over the windshield, along with its blackened and shrivelled internal organs.

Ymir grimaced and sprayed water on the window, activating the windshield wipers. They would need to wash the car later, but for now they had more pressing matters to attend to - namely Krista’s reckless behaviour.

“Krista,” Ymir started, “I’m just gonna say that-”

“-I’m sorry!” Krista interrupted, sniffing loudly. “It was my stupid decision that almost got us killed, and it could’ve been me that prevented us from getting us into this car safely. I’m really sorry for what I did, Ymir, please forgive me.”

“Weellll… it depends. You have to do what I ask or else I won’t forgive you.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything!”

Ymir smirked at the hopeful and eager glint in Krista’s eyes.

“How about some driving lessons?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	11. Chapter 11

It was soft – warm, from being held for so long, though the fingers clasping the red material were cold and calloused. Outside, beyond the safety of the walls and the window, it poured rain through the morning sun. Clouds were out, but a single ray of light split between a crack in the heavy clouds.

Mikasa glanced at the rain pattering against the window and then ran her thumb over the words stitched to the necktie. The bumpy feel of the perfectly sewn-in words ingrained itself into Mikasa’s mind, filling her chest with hope that she was afraid of. She continued to stare outside as she memorized the pattern on the necktie. Each time her fingertips brushed over a bump her chest tightened and relaxed, and a torrent of memories pushed against the wall she was attempting to hold up to keep them away. It was painful to remember, but in the end it was inevitable. Mikasa could never forget it, the day Krista came to school, so excited for she had stitched her name to her tie, on her own. She had been so proud.

 _Mikasa had been sitting with Annie on a bench at their school. The_ _weekend was over, but it was still the beginning of the year. They had all just entered highschool, and the most excited of them had to be Krista._

_When Mikasa spotted her, Krista was all but skipping towards them with a proud and satisfied grin on her face. Her small blonde head bobbed in and out of traffic, disappearing behind the taller students – which were all the other students._

_“Guys, guys!” Krista finally burst out of the mingling crowd of learners and came to a halt in front of her two stoic-faced friends._

_“Why are you so excited?” Annie asked. “It’s too early in the morning to be that cheerful.” She sighed softly and warmed up slightly inside when Mikasa scooted closer to her on the bench and gently clasped her wrist. She tried to ignore how hot Mikasa’s skin felt on her own skin._

_“Did something happen?” Mikasa asked, not vocally agreeing with Annie despite the fact that she did agree with her opinion. School had been rough for them so far, in terms of tests, speeches and homework – and it had only been two weeks since school started. If Mikasa and Annie weren’t always so stone-faced then everyone would clearly see their grumpiness and discomfort._

_“Yes! Well… no, but look!” Krista dropped her bag and then knelt down by it to rummage around for something inside. Once she found it she immediately straightened and then stepped forward towards her friends._

_“Heyo~!” Sasha suddenly sprung up out of nowhere and wound her arms around Krista from behind. She bent her head around Krista’s to grin into the blonde’s face, and then she straightened and rested her chin atop blonde hair. Mikasa smiled slightly and hid it behind her scarf. Annie wanted to smile, but didn’t._

_“Sasha!” Krista forgot her earlier excitement for a new kind, and quickly turned in her brunette friend’s embrace to give her a proper, tight hug. She felt the warmth cover her cold face as she pressed her cheek to Sasha’s neck, and she sighed because of it._

_It was cold now, sometimes really cold, but it would heat up as the day went along._

_“I heard yelling. Did someone bring food?” Sasha pulled out of the hug to launch herself at Mikasa and Annie. She jumped into the air and was luckily caught by the duo on the bench, though they were not impressed at all. Annie would have pushed Sasha off if Krista hadn’t started talking again._

_“Oh yeah!” Krista waved her hands to get their attention, one of them closed into a tight fist, and then she took a deep breath through her nose. “So, I decided to do something really cool yesterday,” she started, “and I managed to finish it last night!” She presented her previously closed fist to her friends and revealed the red necktie within._

_“Your tie?” Mikasa asked, puzzled._

_“It’s against the rules not to wear a tie,” Annie pointed out, just as puzzled as the others._

_“I thought something was missing!” Sasha exclaimed._

_“So, what about your tie?” Mikasa asked._

_Krista sighed dramatically and held her tie out properly for them to see. When they did, and when they all grimaced as a result, her animated smile never faltered. “So?”_

_“Why did you put the word ‘rice’ on your tie?” This Annie voiced, but it was actually on all three of their minds._

_“Rice?” Krista pulled the tie up to her face to inspect it, and she frowned. “It doesn’t say rice! It says Reiss. Can’t you read it?” She held it out again, this time looking a bit deflated._

_Sasha squinted and then slowly hummed in delight. “Nope, I see rice! Now I’m hungry.” Her mind filled with images of delicious rice dishes, and as usual she fell into a concentrated food trance._

_Mikasa sighed softly and managed to push Sasha off of them, but placed her upright on the bench beside her. The brunette leaned against her side, still deep in thought._

_“Is it supposed to be your surname?” the black haired girl asked._

_Krista’s smile resurfaced and she beamed proudly. “Yeah! I realized the other day when I couldn’t find my tie that it can get lost so easily. So why not put my name on it?”_

_“Krista, what happened to your fingers?” Annie reached out and clasped the other blonde’s hands. She inspected the multitude of plasters with concern and then glared up into Krista’s sheepish face. “You can’t sew, can you?”_

_“I can now!”_

_“Krista, that’s dangerous. How many times did you stab yourself with a needle?” Annie’s grip on Krista’s hands remained and she held more firmly onto them. She was emotionless most of the time, but she really did care about her friends. Especially Krista. She was like their baby. They all protected and loved her. Annie felt intensely protective of her fellow blonde, and she knew that Mikasa and even Sasha felt exactly the same._

_“I kind of lost count, but it doesn’t matter!”_

_“It does,” Mikasa interrupted. “If anyone were to find your tie they wouldn’t be able to read your name on there. It’s illegible.”_

_Krista’s brows creased together as she dropped her gaze back down to the tie caught between hers and Annie’s hands. She had been worried at first that the embroidery hadn’t been done that well, but she had been sure that her friends would be able to read it. But looking at it now, Krista had to agree with them. They were right._

_Instead of pouting in sadness or tearing up, like Mikasa and Annie had been worriedly expecting, Krista softly removed her hands from the other blonde’s and then fastened her tie around the collar of her white shirt._

_“Okay,” she said levelly, “I’ll redo it. Just you watch. I can get it right!”_

_The next day Krista found her friends in much the same fashion, though this time she presented her newly embroidered necktie, and the initials weaved into the material were almost perfect._

_‘K. H. Reiss.’_

Mikasa quickly shrugged out of the memory and cursed herself for slipping into it. The images and sounds her mind still held of Sasha, it all made her feel sick to the stomach. She missed her so much, but at least there was now hope that Krista was alive.

There was no other logical explanation for her precious necktie ending up all the way in Trost. Unless… Mikasa didn’t want to think about the other possibilities, and she instinctively knew that it wasn’t a smart thing to do because her heart just couldn’t take it.

She stood suddenly and gripped the tie in her clenched and shaking fist. On sure feet Mikasa approached Annie, who had just returned from scouting outside, and gripped her shoulder with her free hand.

“Mikasa?”

“Annie, can we leave sooner than this afternoon, can we leave now?”

Annie paused to look deeply into Mikasa’s eyes. She recognized the hope in them, the hope she had seen when they had discovered Krista’s tie the previous day. The same hope burned in her too, so she gave her partner a nod and pulled Mikasa’s hand off of her shoulder.

“I just took a walk down the street,” Annie announced as she shut the door behind her and dropped her heavy bag that was full of weapons to the floor.

“What?! You shouldn’t take a stroll down the road while there’s an apocalypse out there! What if you ran into a horde and I wasn’t there to help you?” This time Mikasa gripped Annie’s shoulders with both of her hands, the tie temporarily forgotten. Her eyes clouded over in worry and quickly darted over Annie’s body to see if there were any signs of injury.

“Calm down,” Annie said softly. She covered Mikasa’s hands with her own and guided them off of her shoulders and held onto them. “I wouldn’t have just taken a walk. I made sure to look around, and there isn’t a zombie for this entire street. I walked quite far. They’re all gone.” She gave the larger hands in hers a squeeze and then dropped them. “So I was thinking that now is the best time to head for Rose. It’s really suspicious that there are no zombies, and I wonder where these things might be, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Mikasa watched Annie walk further into the apartment and steadily pack their things into the few bags they had brought. “We’re leaving now, then? How safe do you think it is further from here?”

Annie finished stuffing her clothes into a bag and then slung it over her shoulder. While she slipped her other arm into the other strap she shrugged. “I don’t know. The best we can hope for is that they’re as thin in numbers further in town as they are here. If we encounter them we’ll figure something out.”

Mikasa nodded determinedly and copied her companion’s motions of packing and straightening the room.

The world might have gone to shit, but they were still trying to keep what remained of their sanity and of their habit of order. And after that, they set off for Rose City.

XxX

The bus jolted sharply as it soared along the empty highway. Marco startled awake when it did. The freckled boy glanced around in panic but quickly relaxed when he realized that he was only on the bus and not being eaten.

“Are you okay?” A woman sat down in the empty seat beside him and placed a warm hand on his wrist. “Looked like you got a fright.”

Marco blushed lightly and nodded. “I’m okay, thanks. The bus-”

“We hit a pothole, sorry.”

Marco simply nodded, still embarrassed. After a long stretch of silence and of staring at the fields racing by, Marco decided to turn to the smaller woman beside him and introduce himself. “Uh… I’m Marco, by the way.”

She smiled. “I know, Hanji told us. I’m Petra.” She reached out and shook his outstretched hand. “So you’re from Maria?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I am.” Petra rubbed her hands over the fabric of her pants and blew a breath through her teeth. “I’m a teacher at Maria High.” She paused and then corrected herself. “… Was a teacher.”

Marco frowned at the sadness in her voice and thought of a way to possibly make her feel better, but he couldn’t think of anything so he decided to rather talk about himself. “I went to Garrison High with my friends Berthold and Reiner, and my… boyfriend, Jean.” He still hesitated slightly and blushed at saying ‘boyfriend’, but he did feel like it was becoming easier to openly admit. He wasn’t shy about the fact that he was dating a boy. It was simply because he was dating in general, and it was something he felt was personal.

Petra smiled warmly at him, at the way he innocently blushed and remembered her own days of being in highschool and feeling that young, naïve love. Her smile then dropped. “Are they…?” She couldn’t finish the question and felt bad for starting it.

“I don’t know. We… we were separated in the centre of town when a horde suddenly attacked. It’s a miracle I’m still alive, to be honest. If it wasn’t for…” he suddenly stopped, remembering all those that had saved him; Levi, Mikasa, Annie, Eren. He even remembered Armin. He had not really known them, but they had saved him and they were all most probably dead. Just thinking about Eren and how he had left the boy behind made Marco sick to the stomach. But he swallowed the revulsion down and kept the emotion from leaking out onto his face.

“My ex-boyfriend,” Petra murmured softly, somehow sensing Marco’s sudden distress and wanting to empathize with him. “He was also a teacher at Maria, but I never had time to go to his class and find him because Hanji was already dragging me out to the teacher’s bus,” she pointed at the ceiling of the bus they were in. “Erwin, a friend and the principle, joined us too and we left in a panic. I wanted them to turn around so that I could look for him, but Erwin talked me out of it.”

“Erwin?” Marco asked while searching the faces of the others on the bus.

“He isn’t here,” Petra said and sighed. She smiled at Marco’s surprise.

“Wh-what happened to him?”

“He ended up going back to look for Levi.” The moment Marco heard that name his heart dropped like a stone. His lip began to tremble, and his emotions became such that he barely heard Petra continue to speak. “We didn’t really have much of a choice, so Erwin put us in charge of finding survivors and then escaping. I’m confident that he’s still alive and that he found Levi. Hopefully we’ll see them both in Sina.”

Marco’s mouth went dry. _Should I tell her? Will it make a difference?_ The freckled boy’s heart pounded painfully in his chest as he battle with himself to tell her. She had a right to know that Levi had died. Marco knew that the Levi that saved him must be the same one that Petra spoke of. But how could he do it? She seemed so hopeful. Maybe telling her now wasn’t a good idea. Maybe he could tell her when they get to Sina, if they get to Sina. Marco just couldn’t stomach the thought of delivering such heart-breaking news.

“Sina?” Hanji suddenly popped her head over the seat in front of them and successfully pulled Marco into his decision not to mention anything. He took the bespectacled woman’s interruption as a sign from fate not to tell Petra.

“Marco and I were just getting to know each other,” Petra clarified. “And you need to stop hanging over the seat or you’ll fall over.”

Hanji just laughed at Petra and then un-expectantly flailed when the bus hit another pothole and she very nearly fell over the seat, like Petra had warned.

“See?” Petra admonished with her arms crossed over her chest and an unimpressed frown on her lips. She also had a glare on her face. “Don’t be so reckless Hanji. Please.”

Hanji sighed dramatically and waved her hand but obeyed and moved to the seat beside them. “Sorry, sorry.”

“The world is ending. I can’t handle losing you,” Marco swallowed and Petra’s lip began to tremble just from the thought of losing her closest friend. She had lost everyone so far and Hanji was all she had left.

Hanji immediately grew sober. “I’m not going anywhere Petra, at least not until I understand these undead monsters.”

Petra was about to report sarcastically or point out Hanji’s tendency to lose lucidity, like she had every time the brunette brought her fascination with the zombies up since the end had begun, but Marco spoke up first.

“I’m sorry but did you say that you want to understand them?”

Hanji nodded vigorously. “I want to study them and understand how they function even though they’re dead. Is it still a conscious person, or does whatever infected them take over? Are their attacks planned, primal or conscious?” She scooted closer and ignored Petra’s exasperated sigh. “The first thing I discovered is how they detect us.” She held her hand out and used her fingers to tick off a list as she spoke. “They can’t see, hear, smell or feel. I’m not sure about taste, but since they eat us let’s assume that they can taste.”

“How did you-”

“Marco!” Petra interrupted him with a startled cry. “If you ask that she’ll-”

Hanji pulled Petra out of the seat before she could finish her sentence and sat down beside a bewildered Marco. “Would you like to know how I figured it out?” She had a face of great anticipation, and even though Petra desperately signalled a ‘no’ from behind Hanji, Marco nodded at the brunette simply because he didn’t have the heart to refuse her. Besides, he was curious and knowing what made the zombies tick so far could really help him in the future.

“Well,” Hanji started. “When it all started I decided to take a walk on a roof of a building we were staying in for the night. I ended up accidentally breaking and kicking a tile off of the roof and it crashed to the floor. There were zombies everywhere on the ground, but know what was strange?”

“What?”

“Not one of them reacted to the sound. They only showed signs of reacting when I leaned over the edge to see if I’d disturbed them. So that got me to thinking, if they didn’t hear that then how did they know I was up there?” Hanji’s grin broadened. “I decided to do a few experiments the next day. I managed to capture one,” Hanji glanced behind her at an unhappy Petra and winked at her. Petra couldn’t help but smile, even though she was being reminded of that upsetting time.

It was definitely not expected to walk into one of the vacant rooms to find Hanji playing around with a zombie. Petra hadn’t been able to stop yelling until Hanji killed it.

“I put it in a chair and tied it down and then I did a number of things. I examined the body. They’re decaying slowly, not completely dead yet but getting there. It’s like their living cells are just dying but are able to still work, to a degree. They have no pupils and their eyes are a milky white colour, which means that they are blind.” Marco furrowed his brows as he listened. “When I walked around it the eyes did follow me, but there was no way it was actually seeing me. By then Petra had discovered it, though, so I had to kill the zombie to get her to calm down.”

“So how did you discover about their senses, besides the sight?”

“When we were running from a horde I decided to throw something at them. It was a stone, about the size of half of my palm. It hit one of the zombies in the face and it never reacted. Later that day I did it again, but this time I was hidden up on a roof again. The zombie didn’t react either. So I’d deduced so far that they couldn’t hear, see or feel.”

“And smell?”

“I cut my hand to see if they would notice, and I even let some blood dribble over the edge, but there was no reaction. A wind had even been blowing over me, towards them. It should have carried the scent of my blood, but they never reacted. At that point I was really wracking my brain to figure out how the hell they detect us.” Hanji grinned and her glasses glinted in the passing sunlight. The bus had just made a right turn onto another highway, coming very close to Rose.

“I started thinking about different predators and how they hunt their pray, in the wild. Then it suddenly hit me. Heat!”

“Heat?”

“Yes! They can detect body heat.”

“But how?”

Hanji cackled in laughter. “I have no idea! But I have definitely proved that the zombies can sense heat and that is how they track their prey. I tried it out with many hot objects. I put a loaf of bread we had in a microwave that was somehow still working, and then I tossed it onto the ground. The zombies finally reacted and lunged at it, but almost immediately lost interest. So I also discovered that it isn’t only the heat, but a heartbeat as well. When I tossed a rat to them they devoured it in seconds.”

Marco shivered violently and Petra decided to finally step in. “Alright Hanji, I gave you your spotlight.” She put her hand atop Hanji’s head. “We’re close to Rose so we should prepare.”

“For?” Marco asked.

“Anything.”

“Hanji, weren’t you driving the bus earlier?” Marco asked suddenly after his thoughts led him to wondering who was driving now if Hanji wasn’t.

“Oh yeah…” Hanji put a finger to her lips and looked petrified for a second, and when Marco paled she laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “Just kidding! I asked Mike to take over. He’s a better driver than me anyway.” Hanji stood, still laughing, and went over to the front of the bus.

Marco released a shaky breath and smiled when Petra sat by him again.

“Sorry, she’s a lot to handle sometimes.”

“It’s okay. It was interesting to hear how she figured all of that out. We should probably document this down and tell every survivor we meet.” He noticed Petra’s questioning gaze. “I mean, if we know what draws them then it’s easier to avoid them.”

Petra nodded. “I never thought about that. Maybe I’ll ask Hanji to write all of this down and we can stick notes on walls as we travel. I’m sure anyone passing by would appreciate it.” She winked playfully. “That was a really good idea!”

Marco laughed nervously. “It was nothing, really.”

Suddenly a loud noise emanated from the bus, there was a rush of smoke from the front bonnet and then the bus came to a screeching halt.

“Bus just crapped out!” Mike yelled from the front seat to quell the panic from the passengers. “Hang on everyone.”

Marco anxiously watched as the attractive blonde man climbed out of the bus to look under the bonnet. It didn’t take that long before he returned and shook his head to Hanji.

“No good, she’s gone. We don’t have any spare parts.”

Hanji bit her lip. “Could you fix it if we find the parts?”

Mike shrugged. “Dunno if you can find any.”

Hanji glanced over at the others in the bus. “Everyone, what do you think we should do?” she asked. “The bus is basically useless now, unless we can figure something out.”

“Why don’t we all walk into the city? It isn’t that far from here. I can see it.” someone from the back suggested. He was a student, most probably from Maria because of his uniform. Marco turned to regard him as everyone else did too.

“We can’t do that.” Petra shot his idea down with ease and he immediately glared at her.

“Oh yeah, got any better ideas? If we can’t fix this thing then we ain’t going anywhere and we can’t just stay here.”

Petra looked like she wanted to argue but Hanji stepped in and put a hand on Petra’s shoulder to silence her.

“That’s a good idea, thank you for the suggestion. But Petra is right. We have elderly people here. There is no way we can all walk into the city. Therefore I suggest we send out a small party to find the parts we need and when they bring them back then Mike can fix the bus.” Hanji glanced over her shoulder and Mike gave her one short nod. “So, any volunteers?”

“I’ll go,” Petra announced.

Marco’s heart dropped and the image of Levi’s final moment flashed before his eyes, but instead of it being Levi dying it was Petra. It came over him suddenly, and he wasn’t aware of himself until it was too late. But in the end he probably would have ended up going anyway.

“I’ll go, Petra stays.” Marco stood nervously and stared levelly at Hanji.

“Oh?” Hanji adjusted her glasses. “Brave now, eh? But yes! Petra stays and Marco goes.”

Petra sputtered. “Hanji!”

Hanji glanced down at her and her arm wound around Petra’s neck. “Please, just go with it. I don’t want you getting hurt.” The strange seriousness in her expression as well as her voice gave Petra’s argument pause. Her lips pouted but she held her breath and nodded.

“I’ll go!” the boy that had made the first suggestion exclaimed with a raised arm. He had shortly cropped ash white hair, and despite the current state of the world, his uniform was impeccable. His skin and clothes were all clean and neat, and he held a look of arrogance but seriousness in his eyes. Hanji nodded.

“That’s great. Anyone else?”

It took a few more moments for a few more hands to rise. The group going were now standing outside of the bus, each of them handling an automatic weapon and a knife or two hidden somewhere on their bodies. They consisted of Hanji, Marco, the student with white hair that introduced himself as Kuro, Mina who was another student, and then Lynne and Henning who were both former soldiers. In total they made 6, an even number. Hanji was relieved because if they hadn’t been an even number then she would have gone crazy.

Mike decided to stay back to protect the others on the bus.

“Everyone, are you ready? It should take about half an hour to reach Rose.” Hanji lifted her weapon into the air as she spoke and locked eyes with each of her comrades.

They all nodded, and then they set off for the walk.

XxX

When they arrived it was quieter than they had expected. Besides a zombie here and there, the streets were empty. A few cars lay destroyed on curbs and through buildings, but that was understandable.

Hanji walked in the front of the group and made Lynne and Henning flank them from the sides. Kuro was tasked with coming up at the back. In the centre, the weakest of them, were Marco and Mina.

“So why did you volunteer?” Mina spoke up suddenly. She smiled up at Marco when he startled.

“Uh…” Marco swallowed the dryness from his mouth. He didn’t want her to see how absolutely terrified he was, since he was shaking like a leaf and constantly glancing around them. “I don’t know.”

Mina nodded. “That’s alright. I get it.” She pressed the gun tighter against her chest. “In all honesty, I wanted to come to help. I feel like Hanji has been carrying me until this point.” Marco wasn’t looking at her because he was too scared to look away from his surroundings, but he did give Mina a nudge on the side to continue.

Mina was scared too. Really scared. She was also a student from Maria and she had been witness to her friends’ grisly murders. It wasn’t very brave of her to volunteer simply because she felt like a burden, because her fear was slowly crawling up her spine. How could it not when the others were battling the dead every few minutes? They were lucky to be in the middle or else they would have to fight too, and Mina was frightened of that. She barely even noticed Marco’s fear as she continued to fill the silence to calm her own racing heart.

“I mean, Hanji saved me by literally pulling me out of a bunch of zombies’ grips. After that she saved me again when I was nearly pulled out of the bus by one. I doubt anyone else would have constantly saved me.” Mina sighed. “Maybe I’m overthinking this.”

Now Marco really wasn’t listening. He could hear Hanji softly murmuring to herself in the front. Her eyes were darting from side to side and the way her shoulders tensed made his stomach tighten. Lynne and Henning seemed overly tense too, and were keeping a close an eye on their surroundings as Hanji. What were they thinking? What was going on?

“Maybe I just want to prove that I'm worth the food and effort they use on me,” Mina continued. “I mean-” Mina stopped abruptly when Hanji paused in front of her and she walked right into her. “Sensei, I’m sor-”

“Ssh,” Hanji shushed her and gave the others a quick, serious look. Lynne and Henning seemed to understand and offered a nod, while Kuro merely waited and Marco began to sweat. Hanji signalled that they should all remain quiet and then they continued to walk again.

It wasn’t long before Marco realized why the others were acting so strangely, because when they turned the next corner they stopped dead in their tracks and immediately turned around, only to pause again.

There were thousands of zombies packed together on the street, and from where they had just come another giant horde rounded a corner. Of course it had been too smooth up until this point.

There was nowhere left to run, so they managed to climb up the nearest building in their panic to escape. Every single zombie had locked onto them and they were now advancing.

“Go, hurry!” Lynne yelled and stayed behind to make sure everyone made it to the alley where a ladder led onto a roof. As soon as Mina raced past her Lynne took to running behind them and used the end of her gun to smack the zombies out of her way. At the ladder everyone besides Mina and Lynne had climbed up, and Mina was in the process of doing so. But as she took the third step hands shot out and pulled her down. She uttered a shriek as she fell and Lynne gasped. When Lynne managed to shoot at the zombies attacking the younger girl they had already ripped Mina’s head off. Her body twitched gruesomely for a few seconds and the blood spurted out. Lynne didn’t make it to the ladder in time and was pulled into a zombie’s arms.

From the roof Henning screamed in anguish and made to climb down the ladder to save his partner, but Hanji held him fast.

“Hanji, let me go!” he roared. “If you don’t they’ll get her!” He struggled desperately and could no longer see over the edge since Hanji had dragged him to the centre of the roof.

“She’s gone!” Hanji exclaimed. “There is nothing you can do anymore.”

But Henning wouldn’t listen. He struggled until Hanji let him go, and then he raced to the ladder and climbed down.

Hanji sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. She knew the moment they had entered Rose that things would get bad, but she had miscalculated exactly how bad it would get. Now she’d just lost three of her fellow survivors in one swoop.

“Idiot,” Kuro suddenly muttered. “Why would he throw his life away like that?”

Marco sat on the ground, trembling violently and crying. He couldn’t stop staring at the ladder and remembering what it looked like when those zombies had killed Mina. He would never forget the sound or the blood. He would never forget the blood.

“Okay,” Hanji began to pace. “Shit. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“But it happened,” Kuro said. “And now we’re trapped because the entire population of Rose are dead and surrounding this building.”

Hanji surveyed the area and cursed under her breath. He was right. They were completely surrounded.

“H-Hanji,” Marco managed between his chattering teeth. “W-we have to get the p-parts.”

“Seriously?” Kuro commented. Marco ignored him.

“Th-they died. We need to get the parts so that they didn’t die for nothing.” It was getting easier to calm down with each word. “Don’t let their deaths be in vain.”

Hanji nodded. “Marco is right. We need to find a way to still get those parts.”

Kuro, despite volunteering in the first place, sputtered and waved his hands. “Are you fucking kidding me? There is no way we are finding those parts.” He lifted his arm and pointed to his right, at one of the streets. “See there? That’s a car with the door wide open. If we can get there then we can escape this shithole and get to Sina.” He smirked in satisfaction and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll be dumb not to agree.”

“That was your intention from the start, wasn’t it?” Marco asked, eyes widening in realization. “You only wanted to come with to ditch us and make your way to Sina on your own?”

Kuro didn’t deny him but he only shrugged.

Hanji hummed to herself in thought. The street where the car sat wasn’t infested, and it was about a block away. She surmised that if it was possible to jump to the next roof and jump down from there, a quick run to the car would make it. “Kuro, if you use that roof you can jump down and make it to the car,” Hanji suggested.

Kuro looked to where she pointed and grinned. “I knew you were good for something!” he exclaimed. “Coming with me?”

Hanji nodded. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Kuro grinned more broadly and hurried off to jump to the next roof. Marco stood, disheartened that Hanji had agreed and prepared to follow, but Hanji put an arm out in front of him and shook her head.

“We’re not going.”

“Why not?”

Hanji mere flicked her eyes to Kuro and they watched him in silence. He successfully made it to the next roof and wasted no time in climbing down the fire escape. The zombies surrounding the building Hanji and Marco were on spotted him and started in that direction, but he was already running towards the car. Once he exited the alley he would need to make it across the street and then dive into the car. So far he was making it.

“Watch,” Hanji whispered solemnly, as if she had already seen what was about to happen.

Kuro burst out of the alley and laughed maniacally when the car was in arms reach, but then a wave of zombies suddenly flew into him and he was engulfed by them.

“They were on that street too,” Hanji explained. “I wanted to see if my assumption was right. We can’t walk the streets.”

Marco swallowed and tried to ignore the sickening screams from Kuro being devoured alive. “What do we do now?” he asked.

Hanji’s face was grim but she managed to give him a reassuring grin. “We find those parts and get back to Petra and the others.”

Marco nodded. “Okay.”

XxX

It took them a few hours to find the closest garage that could have the parts. Hanji somehow knew which directions to take and she and Marco scaled walls and walked along roofs to get there. Once there they found what was needed and hurried back the way they had come. Getting out of Rose had been harder, but luckily Hanji had found a bicycle and they escaped without the zombies noticing.

Within twenty minutes they returned to the bus, but the scene there was even more horrible than the one of Mina’s death.

Hanji and Marco both paled when they neared the bus and ran to the door. There were bodies littering the cement, torn to shreds with guts and blood staining the ground, the bodies of the elderly people that had been on the bus.

“Petra?!” Hanji yelled in panic. She avoided the mess of blood and flesh on the steps leading into the bus and hurried inside. There she found more blood and pieces of limbs and flesh. There were a zombie or two, both dead, and at the back one that was still alive and currently feasting on one of the survivors. Hanji panicked when the body between the thing’s teeth had blonde hair.

The bespectacled woman immediately bashed the zombie in the head and killed it, but sighed in relief when the body wasn’t Petra.

“Petra, where are you?!”

“She’s here!” Marco yelled from the front of the bus. Hanji hurried to his side and sucked in a deep breath.

“Petra?”

“She’s fine,” Marco said. “She hid underneath the seat.” He pulled her out and Hanji immediately pulled Petra from his arms.

“What the hell happened here?” Hanji asked softly, to no one in particular. She swallowed her worry down and gently wiped the blood from Petra’s face. Luckily it wasn’t the smaller girl’s blood.

“Looks like a few zombies ventured out of town.” Marco pointed behind them. “We should probably leave.”

Hanji looked around. “Wait, where is Mike? Why did he let everyone get killed like this?” She carried Petra with her and got out of the bus. Almost all of the survivors were dead and eaten. There were only a few missing, and Hanji had a sinking feeling that when the attack had happened they had run.

“Hanji, there’s a group of zombies heading this way from Rose. What are we going to do?” Marco was still trembling. Above them thunder boomed. The clouds were dark and angry, and before long it would start to pour.

“Our only hope is to return to Rose,” Hanji said. “Find a car there.” She gripped Petra’s unconscious form more firmly against her chest. “And we have to do it without getting killed.”

Marco swallowed and Petra stirred.

XxX

And it did pour. The clouds let loose a waterfall of rain. Ymir and Krista had still been travelling and were an hour from Rose when the downpour hit, so the brunette decided to park on the side of the road and wait for the rain to stop before they continued. It was also getting dark, and she was hesitant to get any closer to Rose when night fell, especially after hearing that broadcast. There was a road that wound around Rose city, one that was barely even used. It had just become easier and quicker to drive through the city, and ironically what was once a burden to travellers was now a relief to survivors.

The couple had folded the back seats backwards into the trunk and were now lying on them and listening to the rapid pattering on the car’s roof.

“I love the rain,” Krista remarked softly. She turned her head to see Ymir already looking at her and smiled at the freckled brunette.

“What are you smiling for?” Ymir asked with an eyebrow hiked upon her forehead.

“Nothing…”

Ymir’s second eyebrow joined the first and then she stared back up at the ceiling. “I hate the rain,” she said.

Krista gasped and flopped over onto her stomach. “You don’t!” she exclaimed.

“I just said I do.”

“I mean that you shouldn’t!” Krista crawled closer to Ymir and nervously rested her head on the brunette’s stomach. Ymir startled internally at the intimate touch, but fought hard not to show it on the outside. She also didn’t respond and just continued to silently stare at the stained roof of the car. “Ymir?”

“Mm?”

“Why do you hate the rain?”

A flashback covered Ymir’s eyes, of when she was young and tiny and sobbing underneath the rain. An uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach, but Krista’s warmth seemed to melt it away soon after. Ymir took a breath. “I just do.”

“You must have a reason.”

“Maybe I don’t.”

“Ymiiiir…” Krista pouted cutely and resisted the urge to giggle when Ymir caught sight of it and blushed.

Ymir sighed. “I don’t like the rain because it reminds me of tears. It’s sorrowful, ominous and sad. It washes the light away.” She spoke softly, seriously, and her face was burning with a blush because of the incredibly personal words she was sharing. She had never shared this with anyone before, until now.

Krista scooted higher until she was resting comfortably on Ymir’s chest, using her small breasts as a pillow. “I think it’s beautiful and refreshing. The smell of rain is fresh, the coolness it brings can relieve the stress of heat.” She hesitantly reached out to caress Ymir’s jaw. “Why do you see it in such a negative way?”

Ymir grabbed the hand touching her skin but didn’t let it go, and intertwined their fingers. “When we pass by Rose we can stop for a few days to continue your driving lessons,” Ymir said to change the subject.

“Oh! Really?” _You’re changing the subject again Ymir,_ Krista thought. _But I’ll let it slide this time._ “Can you finally let me actually drive the car?”

After the incident at the church Ymir decided it was time to give Krista a more responsible role by enhancing her skills. For the past few days they had stopped on the side of the road and Ymir had been teaching Krista the basics of how to drive. She explained how the gears worked, expressing intense importance on the clutch. When Krista was finally promoted from theory to practical learning, she was allowed to attempt at starting the car. To her surprise and Ymir’s delight, Krista managed to start it, not without hesitation, on the first try. They spent most of that lesson on just starting the car, and Ymir made sure to re-explain the importance of the clutch and the gears.

Since society was fucked Ymir didn’t think road rules were all that important, but she did give Krista a quick run through of them anyway. You never know, right?

Krista was absolutely enthusiastic and excited to learn. Her parents had coddled her and she was only allowed to _learn_ about driving when she turned 18. Once she aced the theory then her parents would only let her learn how to drive at 19. Ymir was definitely not impressed when she heard of this. Because of her parent’s inability to let their child grow in independence Ymir had to teach the girl herself, when she could have known already and saved them a lot of trouble.

But in all honesty Ymir was enjoying the lessons. It allowed for more intimacy without it getting weird. Like with starting the car, Ymir had to engulf Krista’s hand with her own around the key and gently guide her to turning it before Krista got the hang of how to turn the ignition. Ymir had done that a few times even though she only had to once, but Krista didn’t need to know that.

Ymir felt proud that she had something important to teach the little blonde. She was helping Krista to grow in confidence and enabling her to better survive in this world alone. Ymir wasn’t naïve enough to believe that she wasn’t capable of dying at any time. If she did, who would Krista rely on if not herself?

“If you can recite the rules of the gears and pedals to me, then yes, you can actually drive the car. We really can’t afford you fucking the car up with a stupid mistake.” Krista frowned unhappily at the comment, hurt by it. “Not that you will,” Ymir hurried to say when she noticed Krista’s hurt.

“Okay,” Krista replied with renewed enthusiasm.

They fell into another easy silence and were content to lie together and listen to the rain outside.

After another hour of silence and rain, darkness had fallen and the rain finally let up and completely stopped. Though there was a relief from the wetness, it was getting increasingly cold and Ymir noted with a groan that they had never thought to bring blankets. What the hell kind of mistake was that?

“I’ll make a fire,” Ymir suggested. Krista was suddenly shivering so badly beside her that she could hear the chattering of her teeth.

“B-but it’s w-w-wet outside.”

“I found a small braai in Trost.” Why hadn’t she packed blankets when she’d thought to bring a portable barbeque set she had found?

“O-o-okay.”

Ymir exited the car and opened the trunk. Krista squealed as a response because the cold air rushed in and chilled her to the bone, but Ymir just laughed at her and hurried to set the braai on the ground close to the car. Once it was set up and the fire was lit, Ymir pulled Krista to the edge of the open trunk and wrapped her arms around her. The fire was blazing in front of them and casting a flickering orange light in the darkness. Due to the clouds they could not see the moon or the stars, so it was much darker than usual.

“This is nice.” Krista still shivered, but the heat from Ymir and the fire were slowly calming her trembling. It was mostly Ymir, because the brunette’s body was just so hot and her scent was making Krista heat up inside.

“I used to go camping as a kid,” Ymir suddenly spoke. “With a friend of mine, Berik.”

“I didn’t see you hang around anyone at school. What happened to him?”

Ymir snorted. “He became an asshole and was practically eaten up by popular society. It just became about the girls and the sports.” She shrugged. “I wonder if his popularity is serving him well now.”

“Why would anyone want to leave you?” Krista said. She snuggled up closer to Ymir and felt the brunette’s heart suddenly speed up. “You’re amazing.”

“No I’m not.”

Krista grumbled. “Fine, let me rephrase that.” She pushed off of Ymir to properly look into her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. “ _I_ think you’re amazing. You’re amazing to _me_ , Ymir.”

Ymir’s heart skipped a good number of beats, and before she knew it she was leaning in closer to Krista and the blonde was watching her with wide eyes and an intense blush. Halfway there Krista started leaning forward too and then their cold lips touched and they melted inside.

Ymir gently cupped Krista’s cold cheek in her warm palm and swallowed the blonde’s sigh within the kiss. Their lips brushed together, softly, gently, and then urgently. As the kiss went on their inner fires grew fierce.

Before Ymir could slip her hand underneath Krista’s shirt and trail her fingertips along the velvety soft skin of her stomach, travelling higher until she could eventually push her bra aside and discover the treasures that lay beneath, the sound of a scuff against the soil immediately pulled Ymir’s attention away.

She suddenly broke the kiss and turned towards the sound.

“Ymir?” Krista was startled and disappointed, since she had been hoping that Ymir would take advantage of the moment – despite how much the thought made her blush. She didn’t question the brunette any further because she noticed Ymir’s concentration and a sudden chill swept down her skin.

“Krista, I think we should-” Before she could even finish the sentence a zombie stumbled out of the darkness with alarming speed and went straight for Ymir.

Krista screamed and Ymir pushed her away just in time. The zombie lunged forward and used its large body to pin Ymir to the floor of the boot.

“Krista, get my gun!” Ymir yelled in panic. “It’s at my hip!” She used all of her strength to hold the zombie off to keep its snapping teeth from sinking into her face. It was disgusting. The thing’s face was right in front of Ymir’s and she could smell the rancid breath and hear its flesh tearing as it struggled against her arms.

Krista’s entire body froze as she stood there and watched the zombie on top of her hero. The fear paralyzed her and her body suddenly weighed a ton. She began to tremble.

“Krista!”

The angered and panicked yell broke through her terrified haze and she managed to force her legs to move. Krista quickly grabbed Ymir’s gun and aimed it at the zombie’s head, but she couldn’t shoot. Her finger pressed against the trigger, but didn’t pull down.

“Goddamnit Krista, shoot it!”

It was a zombie, Krista knew that. She’d shot the things before. But this one reminded her of her father. She imagined that he had once been a large, stocky man with pale blonde hair and a deep, booming voice. Of course the shell of the person was a tattered mess. The skin was discoloured – or maybe that was because of the shallow fire light – the suit was torn and bloodied, and chunks of flesh had either been bitten off or seemed to have fallen off.

“Fucking hell, KRISTA! FUCK!” Sweat poured down Ymir’s forehead and she realized that Krista wouldn’t shoot. She was struggling with this powerful creature and Krista wouldn’t goddamn shoot. She was going to die, and it would be painful.

But her survival instincts kicked in, and the intense anger and fear made adrenalin surge through her already pumped up veins. With strength she had never possessed before, Ymir completely shoved the zombie off of her and took to stepping on its head until the skull exploded underneath her boot and the thing died a second time. After that Ymir slumped against the car and hyperventilated. She had just almost died.

“Wh-what the f-fuck!” Ymir yelled as best she could with her haggard breathing.

Krista was still standing with the gun in her hand, but it was now pointing at the floor. She was breathing heavily and tears were slowly streaking down her face. “I couldn’t…” she muttered. “I couldn’t…”

“Couldn’t fucking shoot a zombie?!” Ymir roared. “I just nearly died goddamnit. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”

Krista dropped the gun and ran into Ymir’s arms, now sobbing and repeatedly saying Ymir’s name. The brunette felt marginally bad for yelling at Krista the way she had, because she could see how frightened the girl actually was.

Krista couldn’t stop her horrid sobbing. She had almost just let her hero die. Her heart swelled with pain and cracked at the thought, and she realized then that she needed Ymir to survive. The world now meant nothing to her if she didn’t have those brown eyes to look into, or have those rough hands to grab her. Her days meant nothing if she didn’t have Ymir’s sarcastic voice and surprising warmth. She needed Ymir to breathe.

“Ymir! Ymir! Ymir! Y-Ymir!”

Ymir’s heart clenched and she hesitantly wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl. She let Krista cry against her, and secretly she cried as well.

They were tears of anger at Krista, herself and the world. She had just nearly died, and it had absolutely been the most frightening experience of her life so far.

But more than that, she had nearly been forced to leave Krista.

XxX

Mikasa played with the radio for a long while, turning the dial in an attempt to find Rose’s usual broadcasts, but all she could find was the constant static. After a long while of this Annie eventually told her to stop because it was getting annoying. Mikasa had shrugged and sat back in her seat.

They were just under an hour away from Rose, but it was already night-time.

“I think we should stop in Rose for the night,” Mikasa said.

“It will be difficult to find a safe place to rest in this darkness.” Annie gripped the steering wheel tightly. She was so tired. They had been driving all day and she really just wanted to go to sleep.

“Annie,” Mikasa said suddenly and pointed forward, “it looks like a fire and a car.”

“Must be others camping out for the night, if they’re still alive.”

Mikasa watched as they drove past and spotted what looked like too people embracing in front of the fire. It struck her odd that people would be that careless to enjoy a moment like that right out in the open, but she soon let it drip from her mind and focused on the road ahead.

“We have no choice,” Mikasa replied to Annie’s earlier statement. “It’s less dangerous than travelling at night.”

Annie didn’t respond for a long while. Not until she suddenly stopped the truck and climbed out, much to Mikasa’s confusion.

“Annie?”

“Mikasa.” Annie beckoned for Mikasa to join her and grabbed the taller girl’s hand when she did. “We won’t be passing through Rose tonight.”

Mikasa looked at Annie with confusion and opened her mouth to respond, but Annie lifted their joined hands and pointed a finger in front of them.

“I don’t think anyone should.”

In front of them, what was probably only about twenty minutes away was the city of Rose. But what gave them pause was the rising, grey smoke and the blazing red flames lapping up at the dark sky. A few buildings were on fire, and the couple knew what that meant.

“The city has been overtaken by them,” Mikasa whispered.

Annie nodded. “And it’s slowly being eaten alive.”

They both hurried back into the car and Annie started driving again, but instead of driving straight for Rose she took the right turn to the highway swerving around the city. They would not get rest that night, and it would now prove longer to get to Sina.

But they were both grateful that the different road was there, because on that blackened night Rose City looked like hell itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	12. Chapter 12

The sun was high in the sky when Ymir and Krista woke from their slumber. After crying until her vision blurred, Krista allowed Ymir to carry her to the car and gently lay her down. The brunette had put out the fire and packed up their things before completely locking the car from the inside. They had held on to each other all night.

Krista had woken first, rubbing her eyes in confusion then gasping as she recalled the events from the night before. Ymir almost died. Ymir could’ve been killed, or turned, and she had been powerless in the face of the threat. She had hesitated, and that could’ve cost them both their lives.

The blonde curled against Ymir’s side, and noticed that the brunette had her arm tightly wound around her, almost as if she was afraid she’d be snatched up at any moment. Krista flinched and sighed, closing her eyes and ignoring the sinking in her stomach. Ymir told her she wanted her to come along, but now more than ever she felt like added weight, like another package to be delivered safely to Sina.

Krista slid out of Ymir's grip and kissed the brunette's forehead, smiling fondly down at her and brushing the hair away from her eyes. Ymir frowned in her sleep and shifted onto her side, then when she tightened her arms around herself her eyes snapped open and she sat up with a gasp.

“Krista!” she breathed, eyes wide and alert, looking directly at the blonde.

Krista smiled brokenly and held Ymir's hand in both of hers. “Ymir, good morning.”

Ymir wiped a hand down the side of her sweaty face and let out a steady stream of air. She inhaled deeply and used both her hands slick her hair back. “Morning.”

Krista wrought her hands together and moved away from Ymir. “How was your sleep?”

“Good.”

Ymir's monotone answer made Krista more uncomfortable than she was before. The air was tense and awkward, and the blonde could only imagine what was running through the brunette's mind. Her own was racing and jumping to conclusions at an incredible rate. Did Ymir hate her now? Was she having second thoughts? What would happen next?

Krista bit her lip and tried to stop thinking about Ymir leaving her. Just now, Ymir must have realized how useless she really is, and this would probably lead to her leaving. Krista thought it to be funny how quickly things changed – just yesterday they were hopeful and happy, and now it felt like they were as hopeful as a defenceless, bleeding person sitting in the middle of hungry predators.

Never did Krista consider the fact that Ymir was thinking of ways to train her, to improve her self-confidence and weapon skills. The brunette was going over the amount of time it would take to teach Krista how to drive properly and to show her how to shoot a gun. The confidence would take a bit of improvisation, and added cruelty on her part, but Ymir was determined to harden Krista. Though Ymir wanted Krista to learn how to fend for herself, she also wanted to be able to trust her life in Krista's hands. If she couldn't trust Krista to protect her, then the event from last night would only be repeated – and Ymir wasn't sure if she would be able to survive the next time.

Ymir peeked at Krista and sighed when she saw the blonde struggling to contain her tears. Krista had her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped around them, head bowed and shoulders trembling. The blonde was surprised when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her against a warm body. She looked up into Ymir's eyes in shock, surprised at her course of action.

“Stop beating yourself up, stupid,” Ymir grumbled, “what happened, happened. There's no going back and changing anything. It's something we have to work through.” Ymir dropped her chin on top of Krista's head and rubbed it harshly against the blonde's scalp. Krista grit her teeth but did nothing in protest.

“I'm not gonna leave you Krista. You're too much a part of my life for me to do something like that,” Ymir added softly, closing her eyes and ceasing her annoying actions. Krista leaned against Ymir and closed her eyes, wiping away the tears that leaked out during the tall girl's tiny speech. She sniffed and buried her face against Ymir's neck, inhaling her scent and shuddering when the brunette traced the curve of her spine gently.

“So what do we do?” Krista asked when the tense muscles in her body relaxed. She felt at complete ease now, knowing that Ymir wouldn't leave her, knowing Ymir needed her just as much as she needed Ymir.

“We're gonna do some training,” Ymir announced, sitting up and looking directly down at Krista.

“Training?”

“Yeah, I'm gonna teach you how to use a gun... and how to kill.”

x

“Ymir... I'm not so sure about this.”

“Shut up.”

“Ymir, seriously, I don't think I can do this. Just teach me how to drive and I'll be-”

“I said shut up!”

Krista trembled but stayed quiet as Ymir fixed her posture, moving her arm up and positioning her fingers in a certain way. She slid her hand along her body until she was satisfied, nodding in approval at the way Krista stood while holding the gun.

At Ymir's nod, Krista sighed in relief and put her arms down.

“Did I say you could move?” Ymir barked, stomping up to the blonde.

Krista squeaked and returned to her previous position, now shaking in fear as Ymir's furrowed eyebrows imprinted a feeling of worthlessness and fear in her. Ymir fixed her posture and stepped back, crossing her arms and tapping her foot in impatience.

“This is how you should stand when you're shooting something. As you get better, you should be able to shoot with one hand, but stick to two hands for now. Just remember – never shoot with your eyes closed, and never flinch. If I catch you doing that there will be hell to pay.”

“Okay.”

“Great!” Ymir grabbed a bunch of twigs and began to fling them at Krista. “Don't flinch, squirt, and don't move!”

“Ow!”

“I said don't flinch!”

Krista narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth. Ymir was totally being unfair. “How the hell do you expect me to not flinch when you're throwing them at my face?!”

Ymir smirked; finally, Krista was starting to talk back. “Suck it up you wimp. You're lucky I didn't decide to throw rocks.”

“Because injuring me is the perfect and logical way to keep me alive,” Krista retorted sarcastically, gripping the handle of the gun tighter as her frustration rose.

“So you want me to throw rocks?”

“No!”

After a while of throwing twigs, Ymir noticed that Krista stopped responding to them and instead started to avoid them. “Did I say you could move?”

“You never said I couldn't dodge them.”

At that, Ymir laughed and dropped her pile of twigs. She approached Krista and patted her head, grinning at Krista's proud smile. Unable to resist her urges, Ymir wrapped her arms around the blonde and lowered her head for a kiss, gripping the gun in her hand and aiming it to the ground. When she pulled back, their gazes were both dreamy and their smiles silly.

Ymir opened her mouth as if to say something, then her mind caught up with her heart and choked her words. Instead, she lifted Krista's wrists and pointed them down the road. “Pull the trigger,” she ordered, stepping behind Krista and putting her warm hands on the blonde's shoulders.

“Okay.”

“Don't you dare close your eyes, and don't flinch.”

“Okay.”

“Do it.”

Krista pulled the trigger and couldn't help the momentary squinting of her eyes, nor the tiny jump at the sound of the bullet breaking the sound barrier and flying across the field. She felt the hands on her shoulders tighten and swallowed nervously.

“Again.”

“But, Ymir, we'll run out of ammunition and-”

“AGAIN!”

Krista did not flinch when Ymir shouted, instead using the boost in adrenalin to fire another bullet. This time, her eyes were wide open, and her body remained motionless.

“Good. Was that so hard?”

“N-no…”

Ymir retracted her arms and moved in front of Krista. Her face was expressionless, her tone emotionless. “We can't practice killing zombies, because those bastards aren't here right now, but when the time comes, I'll most definitely have you do it.”

Krista released a shuddering breath and nodded. “Alright.”

Ymir cracked a grin and cupped Krista's face. “You did good, squirt... for a newbie like you!”

Krista grinned but pouted when Ymir scuffed up her hair. “Hey...”

“Hey! You over there!”

The couple turned to the car parked on the road, the driver wearing a baseball cap to cover his face. The driver waved his arm around and pointed at the brunette. When Ymir pointed to herself, he nodded and beckoned her to him.

“Stay here and practice your posture,” Ymir told Krista, “just don't shoot anything. I'll go see what this asshole wants.”

The tall brunette kept a serious expression on as she approached the vehicle. When she was directly in front of the driver's window, she laid her arm across the top and leaned close to the driver's face. The driver, in turn, tucked his chin against his neck and pulled the rim of his hat lower. Ymir raised an eyebrow and looked at the passenger's side, examining the back of another person's head. Both looked strangely familiar, and this only aroused the brunette's suspicions. She decided to quickly get this over with, if only to avoid any potential dangers these two people could bring.

“What is it? What do you want?” Ymir harshly demanded, getting right down to business. She was most definitely not going to be friendly with other survivors who might kill her when she turned her back.

“Directions,” the driver answered.

“Directions to where? If you wanna get to Sina, just keep following the outer road. I don't have time for this shit, so fuck off.”

Ymir gasped and cursed when she felt a cold sensation against her chest. She looked down at the barrel of the gun pressing against her chest, then turned her eyes to glare at the driver, who had lifted the rim of his hat to reveal bloodshot eyes thirsty for revenge.

“I want directions to hell, Ymir,” Connie snarled.

Ymir kept her expression neutral and lifted an eyebrow, showing her disinterest. “Sorry, I don't know how to get there. Maybe you can ask your gun.”

Connie pressed the gun harder against Ymir's chest, his scowl growing in anger. “Fuck you. I'm gonna kill you and save Krista.”

At this, Ymir broke out laughing and shook her head. “Save Krista? Did spending that much time in the hotel screw up your brain?” In her mind, she hurriedly went through all the possible outcomes to this situation. She thought about Krista, but immediately dismissed any plan that involved her. The last thing she needed was the blonde to find out about Connie and express sympathy in saving him. This boy was out of his mind, and he needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

The brunette glanced at the passenger and met Jean's scared but determined gaze. He seemed reluctant to help, but Ymir knew that Connie must have influenced him to play along. Ymir needed to get Jean on her side if she wanted to stand a chance.

The crazed boy slid the gun's barrel to Ymir's heart and frowned even harsher. “You kidnapped her – I saw you! We both did! And I'm sure you're forcing her to go against her will with whatever you're planning – you'll probably feed her to the zombies as soon as your life is in danger...” Connie stopped talking when Ymir clicked her tongue and shook her head, looking at him with pity in her eyes.

“You poor sap, I can't believe you actually believe that. If I had wanted to throw her out to those bastards, I'd have done so a long time ago, when we were getting away in that car. Why don't you consider the fact that I left for her sake? That I took her along because she wanted to come with me, so that I could save her?”

Ymir glanced at Jean and saw his eyes widen. _Bingo._

“Whatever!” Connie snarled, “I just want to kill you and get this over with!”

“Then do it,” Ymir dared, her heart thundering in her chest, “kill a living human being – one with a beating heart.”

Connie's hand trembled, and he grit his teeth in aggravation. He slid a hand down his face and pushed his baseball cap off his head. Ymir noticed the veins bulging out of the boy's head, the worsening condition of his eyes, the paling of his skin...

Ymir looked at Jean and scoffed. “What the hell, Jean! Why are you with this loser? Can't you see that I left with Krista because you guys were slowing us down? I would've taken you with us, but this asshole was with you. There was no way I'd risk Krista's safety with this jerk coming along.” It was a half-truth, but Ymir's life was at stake here. Her intention for leaving was the least important concern right now.

Jean shook his head, body trembling. What should he do? Who should he believe? The guy with a metaphorical gun against his forehead, or the girl who betrayed him and left him for dead?

“Ymir? What's taking so long? I'm starting to get a bit sore.”

“If she gets any closer, you're dead.”

Ymir mentally cursed and signalled with her hand behind her back to tell Krista to stay put. Jean looked past Ymir to see Krista, and finally realized what he should do. Krista looked perfectly fine, she was okay – Connie had lied to him.

“Connie, put the gun away,” Jean commanded.

Connie turned to look at him incredulously, keeping his hand locked firmly around the gun. “Shut the hell up! I'll do whatever I want!”

“No, put the goddamn gun away, Connie! What you're doing is wrong!”

Connie's body began to tremble viciously, and his mouth started to foam. His eyes bulged out of their sockets, and his rage climbed to newer heights. All his regret, his anger, his fury converted to adrenalin. Ymir finally noticed the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around Connie's thigh.

“Infected...” Ymir muttered, eyes widening in horror.

Connie dropped the gun and clutched his head. Soon, his jaw slackened, and his skin became a deathly shade of grey. Ymir jumped back when Connie lunged at her, and was quickly joined by Jean, who dashed off to Krista. Held back by his seat belt, Connie futilely clawed at the air in an attempt to grab Ymir. He began to groan and shout, and the cracking of his bones was heard from where Krista stood.

Krista dropped her position when she noticed Jean running to her, and gasped in shock. “Jean? Is that you? Where's Connie, and why are you here?”

Her questions remained unanswered as Ymir pulled her along and quieted her. Thankfully, everything had been packed beforehand, and all that remained was to fix the seat and drive. Jean quickly aided Ymir in adjusting the car before he jumped in the back seat. Ymir forced Krista in the driver's seat and took the passenger's side, equipping her gun and aiming it at Connie.

“Krista, I know this is sudden, but I need you to drive us out of here now.”

Krista turned to Ymir in shock. “What?”

“I'll explain things later! This is your first driving test – get us the fuck outta here right now!”

“B-but-!”

“No buts!” Ymir roared, “let's go! I can see a horde on the horizon!”

Connie managed to break past the car door and began to approach the trio's car. Jean nervously held on to the seat under him and watched as Connie approached closer and closer.

“Okay... ignite the engine... got it! Everyone, put your seat belts on, please. Um... shift gears...”

“Go Krista! Go! GO, GO, GO!”

“FLOOR IT!”

Krista floored the gas and sped them off the field and onto the road. She dashed away just as Connie reached the area where they had been, and met another horde that tore him apart. His screams of agony were the last thing Krista heard as she drove them down the highway.

x

_“_ _Is that the last of them?”_

_“_ _Yeah.”_

_“_ _Okay, hold onto Petra for me. And if you don't want to look, you don't have to. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the smell...”_

_“_ _It's fine, Hanji.”_

_Hanji sighed and nodded. Marco swallowed nervously and watched as Hanji dumped the remaining gas the bus had all over the inert corpses. After she finished, she lit several matches and threw them at the pile. The flames blazed to life in an instant, and she quickly retreated to Marco's side to take Petra into her arms._

_Marco looked away from the burning cadavers and shuddered when the scent entered his nostrils. It was an ingenious plan on Hanji's part, to burn the bodies and wane the attention of the oncoming horde, but it was so immoral Marco had to question whether his sanity was still intact after allowing such an atrocious act._

_“It's perfect!” Hanji cackled, “_ _discovering what makes them react, and using it against them! A perfect way to demonstrate humanity's intelligence!”_

_She smiled eerily in satisfaction and stepped back to observe her handiwork. The fire lit the night in shades of orange, yellow and red, and it made_ _her appearance seem crazed. Her smile widened with every passing second. Marco wrought his hands in discomfort and finally built the courage to shake Hanji's shoulder, startling her from her daydream._

_“Hanji? Shouldn't we go now? The zombies are distracted and will get here any second now, and we're not one hundred percent sure this will work,” Marco whispered._

_Hanji blinked, then nodded. She almost seemed disappointed that she wouldn't be able to watch the results of her experiment. “Alright then,” she sighed, “you lead the way, and I'll cover Petra as I follow.”_

_Marco hesitated, and then nodded. “I'm not comfortable leading,” he admitted, “but I'll do it. For Petra.”  At this, Hanji smiled genuinely and clutched the woman in her arms tighter._

_“For Petra.”_

Marco woke with a gasp, sitting up straight and squinting at the sun in his eyes. He rubbed his face in exhaustion, groaning as the effects of sleeping on an escape ladder made themselves known along his spine. He looked to the side and saw Hanji curled up near Petra's lap, the other woman wide awake and staring down the road.

They were currently in Rose. After barely evading the surprise horde and sneaking along the shadows in the city, they had decided to get some rest before moving on. It wouldn't have been wise to search for a method of transportation at night.

When Hanji had suggested the escape ladder, Marco had initially been sceptical, but now saw the logic in her decision. If they were spotted on either side, they had two exits to use. Not to mention, they could survey the area around them and detect any trouble heading their way. The only disadvantage was the metal grid digging into their bodies as they slept.

“Good morning, Marco,” Petra greeted quietly, smiling gently.

“Good morning,” Marco returned, smiling shyly. He tucked his knees to his chest and watched as Hanji's chest rose and fell in her rhythmic breathing. She seemed to be at peace, which was strange, considering their predicament.

“She must be exhausted,” Petra murmured, “she must have carried me all the way here, I know she did.” Her eyes dimmed and she gingerly thumbed the other woman's cheek.

Marco said nothing, since his mind was too occupied with what he'd had to witness the night before. The terror and the horror of what he'd had to face. He could still smell the smouldering carcasses on his clothes.

Shaking his head, the teen decided they should get going now while they still had time. The sooner they found a car, the sooner they could get to Sina. He approached Petra and clasped the woman's hands tenderly, looking down at Hanji.

“Petra? We need to leave now. Could you wake Hanji up?”

Petra nodded and retracted her hands to retrieve Hanji's glasses. She shook the woman gently and called her name softly. Hanji blinked her eyes open and sat up, looking around in confusion before yawning and stretching her arms out. She smacked her lips and stuck her tongue out at the dryness in her mouth. Grabbing her glasses from Petra, she put them on and adjusted them with a determined look on her face.

“We need water,” she announced.

Marco and Petra exchanged looks and giggled, further confusing Hanji. “What?!” she whined.

“Nothing!” Petra giggled, “just the way you said it, so serious...”

Marco nodded in agreement. Hanji sighed and dropped her head. “You guys...”

Suddenly, the trio heard a scream echo in the city, and were reminded of their current situation. Marco lowered his gaze and Petra clenched the fabric of her pants tightly. Hanji looked determinedly out across the horizon and pushed her glasses up.

“Forget the water, we need to find a way out of here, and fast,” she declared, standing and helping Petra up. Marco stood and dusted off his pants, stretching and groaning. He followed Hanji and Petra down the escape ladder, and then down the road as they crept along the buildings. They walked side by side, Marco and Hanji on either side of Petra. Thankfully, it seemed that the zombies were too preoccupied with something else to be worried about three lucky strays.

As they walked, Hanji began to develop an overwhelming curiosity for what had happened on the bus with Petra. She had wanted to know as soon as she saw the catastrophe, but decided to keep quiet in order to focus on saving their lives. She valued Petra and Marco over her burning desire of knowledge.

But now, with their lives relatively safe, it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

Assuring their surrounding area was clear of threats, Hanji leaned down to Petra and caught her gaze. The orange-haired woman smiled, which made Hanji smile too. “So, Petra...”

“Yes, Hanji?”

“I need to ask something,” Hanji regained an air of seriousness and straightened, adjusting her glasses, “yesterday, when the bus was attacked, what happened, exactly? Where had Mike and the others gone, and why did they leave you behind? How did you even survive?”

Marco gasped and Petra frowned heavily, halting her movements to put a hand on her hip and glare at Hanji. The bespectacled woman tilted her head in confusion and opened her mouth to say something, but was harshly interrupted by Petra.

“How could you ask something so sensitive in such a callous manner? Do you know how hard it is to have been in that situation, to have seen the things I've seen? I've seen people killed, eaten alive and I was in the midst of all that terror. I barely made it out alive, and you have the _gall_ to ask me how I did it? What the _hell,_ Hanji!”

Hanji flailed her arms around, as if to aid her in making her point. “That's exactly why I'm asking! You were in the middle of it, you should know _why_ it happened. Not to mention, you could also tell me if anyone turned after being eaten, especially the people with fragile bodies like the elders-”

Hanji's cheek turned to the right as Petra slapped her, finally fed up with her questions. “If you had any heart with those brains of yours, you'd realize how cruel you are acting in regards to my feelings about the incident and the memory of the people who died. You are heartless, Hanji.” And with that, Petra walked ahead and put Marco between her and Hanji.

Speechless, Hanji caught up to Marco and looked across at Petra, who crossed her arms and glared at the pavement. Hanji rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, going over her words in her head. What did she say wrong? All she did was display her genuine curiosity at what Petra had gone through. She needed to know what happened, so she could gather and use the information for a later time. Why couldn't Petra understand that?

Hanji decided to think in Petra's perspective. If Hanji had gone through what Petra had, would she want someone to interrogate her and pull information out of her in such a manner? Hanji knew the answer before she even finished the thought. The guilt started to build in her chest and weigh her down when she peeked over at Petra and noticed her bottom lip quiver.

“Petra?” Hanji tried. The woman sighed when Petra ignored her.

Marco shifted awkwardly at the tense air between the two and decided to break the tension. “Hanji, I think we should find the car that Kuro tried to steal yesterday. It should still be where we he left it.”

Hanji nodded and moved in front of the group. “I agree with you. I'll lead us there.”

Petra watched Hanji's back as the woman led them through the streets. She suddenly felt bad for slapping Hanji, since she surely did not deserve that. Petra should've realized that Hanji's excitement and thirst for knowledge would block out any other emotion. And there was also the fact that they could die at any moment, and it was better to die without regrets rather than with a moral debt to pay.

“Hanji?”

“Petra?”

The names came out at the same time, which made both women chuckle and Marco smile. Petra nodded for Hanji to go first.

“I just want to apologize for the way I acted. I realize that asking you these things so soon was not very kind of me. I promise I won't do it again.”

“And I want to apologize for slapping you, and calling you heartless. You are not heartless, Hanji. Why... why, you even came back for me, and saved me. Thank you for that.”

Hanji grinned and adjusted her glasses when she leaned her head to look directly into Petra's eyes. Her grin faded to a smile, and her voice came out tender. “You mean a lot to me,” Hanji murmured.

Petra blushed and shifted her gaze to the side shyly. What did Hanji mean by “you mean a lot to me”? Did she mean in a romantic way, or a platonic way? Ambiguous statements were always a common tactic employed by Hanji.

While the two shared their moment, Marco remained vigilante and rightfully scared shitless the deeper they ventured into the city. So far, they hadn't really encountered many zombies, and the ones they'd seen were feasting on corpses or just lounging about, aimlessly walking around and bumping into each other. They truly had no purpose other than eating the living.

Marco turned his head when Petra began to speak, eager to take his attention off of the bloody Armageddon happening before his eyes.

“When the zombies found us, Mike and all the other men ran away the second they could. I don't know where they went, but I'm sure some of them were eaten if they got too close to Rose.  The elders couldn't really do anything with their old bodies, and they begged me to hide so I wouldn't get hurt, so I obeyed their dying wish and hid where you found me. I saw them get eaten, Hanji, I heard them scream and I was so scared that I passed out. When I woke up, I was on the escape ladder next to you, in your arms.”

Hanji opened her mouth to comment, but did a double take and pointed excitedly in front of her. “Look, the car!” She eagerly ran up and crouched behind the corner of a building, beckoning her comrades to follow. Relieved at having avoided the rest of the retelling, Petra pulled Marco along and crouched near Hanji.

The car's front door on the driver's side was wide open, however the keys seemed to be sitting in a pool of blood just beside the vehicle. Hanji would have preferred to avoid touching anything like that, but it seemed that she had no choice.

Hanji turned to Marco and Petra and pointed at the car. “Alright, here's the plan. Petra will turn on the car while I fend off any threats. Marco, as soon as you get there you jump in the backseat and keep your head down. Once the car is on, Petra will jump in the passenger's side and I'll slide in and shut my door. Petra, you need to lock the doors the _second_ I get in, understand? And make sure all the windows are rolled up.”

“Got it!” both chorused.

As soon as the three of them made to turn the corner, an onslaught of undead turned a corner as well, picking up speed when they detected living flesh. Hanji cursed their luck and scoped the area for any ideas. She picked up broken metal rods and passed one each to Marco and Petra.

“Okay, plan B! We try our hardest to stay alive while killing anything in our way in order to follow plan A! Get it? Let's go!” Hanji rushed forward and slammed the rod on strays that blocked her path.

Petra and Marco, petrified, could do nothing but watch as Hanji eliminated all that stood in her way to reach the car. When Petra realized what was going on, she shook her head and dashed forward, swinging the rod around like Hanji and knocking away the jaws chomping for her ankles. Both women paved a way to the vehicle intended for Marco to use to follow them, yet the boy remained scared stiff, rod clutched in his hands and face deathly pale.

This was it, this would determine whether he was a survivor or a loser. Would Marco be able to meet with Jean again and prove his strength, or was he doomed to die at the hands of the undead?

Marco shook his head and grit his teeth. What would Jean do? He would probably curse whatever put him in this situation and run away. He'd run until he couldn't anymore and then he'd face reality and fight back harder than what was opposing him. That's what Jean would do, and that's what Marco wanted to avoid.

The teen squeezed his eyes shut then opened them with renewed confidence when Hanji hollered his name. Petra was already in the process of igniting the engine and Hanji was clearing the way for him. Would he let their efforts go in vain? No, he wouldn't.

With a battle cry, Marco ran forward and swung his rod around to slam any zombies in his way to the side. He felt absolutely powerful, invigorated, intense... he had never felt this way before in his life. He could do it! He could get to Jean in one piece and help Petra and Hanji!

Marco ducked and slammed another walking corpse, sighing in relief when it narrowly missed him. All he needed to do was get to the car and-

Marco felt the blood drain from his face when a zombie stretched its neck out from the corner of his eye and bit in to his shoulder. It only nicked the edge, but its teeth sunk in very deep and refused to budge. Its white eyes bore into his soul.

Tears filled the boy's eyes and he desperately slammed the rod against the zombie's head, finally dislodging it from his shoulder and stumbling forth. He reached the car and opened the back door, jumping in and keeping his head down, as Hanji instructed. All he could hear were Hanji's battle cries, the thumps against the vehicle, the car's engine, the groans, the _groans, the groans...!_

Marco bit his lip to prevent himself from sobbing outright and clutched his shoulder in an attempt to somehow reverse the infection. _It's not happening_ , Marco thought, _it's not gonna happen_. But then he remembered Levi, and how Levi ordered Mikasa to kill him with stone cold eyes. Instead this time, it was Jean stabbing his heart with a metal rod.

“Marco, are you alright?”

Marco lifted his head. Petra's concerned expression filled his vision, and all he could do was nod and then he turned onto his side.

“Yeah, it's just a scrape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	13. Chapter 13

The car swerved quickly, tires screeching on the blood soaked tar and smoke lifting up into the air. Hanji floored the gas and laughed maniacally when the car shot forward down the road and they escaped the horde behind them. She quieted down quickly and slowed the car when they turned onto an empty road.

“You guys alright?” she asked loudly.

“Marco looks a bit pale,” Petra answered softly and looked to the back at the boy now lying on his side. “But he said he’s fine.”

Hanji nodded. “And are you okay?”

Petra turned around and straightened properly in her seat. She didn’t answer the other woman until she had secured both of their seatbelts. “I’m fine, Hanji. Thank you for your concern.”

Hanji grinned. “Great! We made it, we’re alive. Now we just need to get the hell out of here and make it to Sina.” Hanji sighed sadly.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s a shame, you know,” the brunette responded. “This place seems different to the other infested areas. I would have loved to do a few experiments here.”

Petra immediately frowned. “Hanji, this is no time to start up with your weird obsession.”

It was tempting to point out how technically no time was wrong or right to bring it up, but Hanji didn’t. She merely waved her hand in dismissal and smiled. “Sure, sorry.”

Petra nodded to herself in satisfaction. “How long do you think it will take for us to get out of Rose?”

The car took a sharp turn around a corner and then swerved to the left to avoid a small group of the dead. Hanji grunted under her breath, as the walkers hadn’t been expected. “Should take an hour to navigate out of here. Have you ever been to Rose before?” Hanji asked.

“I came here once a few years ago.”

“And you, Marco?” Hanji quickly shot a glance over her shoulder, but what she saw of Marco made her frown. He was now curled up and shivering. She figured that he was probably in shock after the ordeal of getting to the car, so she didn’t press him for an answer when he didn’t respond. The last time she acted without thinking Petra ended up mad at her. Hanji knew that now she had to try to be a little more considerate. Having Petra’s anger directed at her was not a pleasant feeling at all, and one to be avoided at all times if possible.

“Hanji, thank you,” Petra suddenly said. She reached out and placed her warm hand atop Hanji’s thigh.

Hanji’s heart shot into her throat. “For what?”

Petra shrugged. “Everything, I guess.”

At this Hanji grinned and placed a hand over Petra’s. She gave it a firm squeeze before returning her hand to the wheel. “Let’s focus on getting out of here before you start thanking me.”

Petra didn’t respond, but she did give Hanji a smile and straightened in her seat again. Her hand still remained on Hanji’s leg, and the fabric against her palm was steadily growing hotter as the silent minutes ticked by.

Marco made no sound from the back and simply remained curled up. He felt sick. His stomach was churning and burning and the bite wound was aching. It felt as if someone had just ripped his skin off and then slipped a burning coal underneath his flesh. Not crying out was difficult, but he managed it. Marco knew that he should have immediately informed them of his injury, but he was scared.

What would they do if they found out? The right thing would be to kill him. That bite could only mean a fate even worse than death, and he could possibly end up hurting one of them. But he was so afraid of everything that all he could do was shut his eyes, shiver and pretend like nothing was real and all of it wasn’t happening. He was relieved that the older women didn’t try to talk to him either, because he wasn’t sure if he would be able to remain calm with his voice. And if he looked into Petra’s motherly eyes and saw the concern there, he would tell them.

Marco was suddenly jostled out of his chaotic and panicked thoughts when Hanji hit the brakes and the car skidded to a halt. This time he uncurled and straightened.

“Hanji, what happened?”

“Shit, the road is blocked.” Hanji exclaimed to answer Marco’s question and Petra’s worried gaze. She quickly reversed and turned the car, only to curse again and grit her teeth.

A giant horde had rounded the corner and they were now completely blocked from the front and behind. There were no side escapes because there were buildings there. The sheer amount of zombies made Hanji waver.

“Hanji, what are we going to do?”

Hanji bit down on her tongue and ordered her brain to think faster, to come up with an escape or an elaborate plan to get them out of there. By then the zombies had zeroed in and were surrounding the idling vehicle.

“There’s too many,” Hanji said. But they had no choice. They couldn’t just sit there and wait until the dead freaks broke through the windows. Hanji hit the gas again and felt the impact of the car colliding into a giant mass of bodies. That did nothing, however, and the wheels simply skidded on the cement without moving forward. There were just too many. Where the hell had all of them come from?

Hanji tried to reverse through them, but the car was held into place by them again.

Pale, bloody and torn hands slapped and clawed against the glass from all sides. Zombies were scratching the hood of the car, wanting to devour the heat from the engine. For now the main focus was there, but some of the creatures had noticed the heat signatures inside of the car and were aiming for that.

Marco now shivered with a whole new bout of terror.

“Damnit, why didn’t I realize this would happen?” Hanji slammed her fists against the steering wheel. Drops of sweat were collecting on her forehead and dripping along her temples. She was never this careless, never this scared.

“It isn’t your fault,” Petra quickly told her. She covered both of Hanji’s fists with her hands and brought them up to press them against her chest. “We will get out of this, I know it. Just keep thinking, you’ll come up with something.” Determination and hope shone brightly in Petra’s eyes, but the sight only made Hanji feel more panicked.

The bespectacled woman exhaled a long warm breath before she closed her eyes and tried to picture their surroundings.

What could draw the zombies away from them? The answer was obvious: heat. But how could they generate heat to draw the things away from them? They were stuck in the car, completely surrounded from all sides. Even opening the door was impossible. Decaying bodies were pressed up against the car from all sides. Their eyes, dull and white, were gazing dazedly through the windows at the occupants inside. It sent a shiver down all of their spines.

Petra began to tremble too. She had faith in Hanji, but even she could understand the severity of their situation. Just when they thought they had managed to escape they wound up trapped once more. And this time there was no apparent way out. If a miracle didn’t happen soon they would be devoured together.

“I GOT IT!” Hanji yelled suddenly. A grin broadened widely across her face and she immediately reignited the engine that she had shut off earlier in order to think.

Petra didn’t ask what. Now wasn’t the time. She simply swallowed hard and waited to see what Hanji had thought of.

Hanji revved the engine hard and continued to grin as she continued to rev and press the gas pedal all the way down. The car roared and screeched and before long streams of smoke lifted from the tires.

“It’s working!” Hanji exclaimed. “But there’s still too many, damnit.” She continued with her actions, hoping with all her heart that this would work and her brilliant idea would save them.

“Um, Petra, what is she doing?” Marco asked. In the panic he had forgotten about the pain in his shoulder, which was ironic since he was now focusing on a different kind of pain.

“She’s generating heat by making the tires skid on the road. The engine is also heating up. That should distract them.” Petra clarified. She’d figured it out the moment Hanji started hitting the gas.

“Will it work?”

“We can only hope.”

The trio sat in tension, listening to the loud noises coming from the car and from the groaning mass outside. Already the ones around the car had thinned some. Most of them moved to the front of the car and were clawing at the metal hood. Some were already chewing at the tires.

Hanji knew that they would lose interest soon once no heartbeat registered to them, but there were still too many for them to even open the doors. The only way to save any of them would be to sacrifice someone. So Hanji chose herself.

“Petra,” Hanji reached out and placed a hand on her companion’s shoulder. “My idea is working but not enough to save us. So I’m gonna go out there and distract them so that you and Marco can run. Do you understand?”

Terror washed over Petra and her stomach dropped like a stone. “Hanji, no! There has to be a better way.” But Hanji was already pulling on the door handle and pushing against the zombies leaning against the door.

“Marco, take good care of Petra for me.” Hanji glanced over at the boy. He was scared stiff and could only numbly nod his head.

Hands shot out and grabbed Hanji’s shirt from behind. The older woman was pulled backwards and Hanji felt warmth cover her back as she was pressed to Petra’s front.

“Let me go instead. You stay and take care of Marco.”

Hanji’s eyes widened. “No, I’ve already decided. We don’t have time to discuss this. We only have approximately a minute before they figure out the heat is not from an organism. Let me go Petra.” Hanji struggled weakly and Petra tightened her arms.

“Never.”

Suddenly a loud bang made them all startle and look forward to see where the sound had come from. A little ways down the road a car had exploded, and the flames were now wild and lapping up at the sky.

The crazed eaters immediately noticed the blaze and every single one of them turned towards the source of heat. They began to move, all of their eyes locked onto the inferno.

Marco thought he was about to cry in relief but managed not to. Petra didn’t manage the same, and let her relieved tears roll down her face.

They continued to watch the fire and allowed the relief to wash over them. But then something landed on top of the car and they were once more brought back to reality.

Hanji, not thinking, immediately kicked the door open and jumped out to defend them from whatever had landed on the car. But when her eyes made contact with icy blue ones, her yells died on her lips and she blinked.

“Follow me if you want to make it out of here alive. There are still a lot of them around the car and they’ve noticed you!” Atop the car a blonde woman stood tall. She had a pair of faded jeans, brown boots and a grey long sleeved shirt on, and she wore black leather gloves and gripped an automatic gun in her hands. There were various weapons strapped around her body and a few grenades perched in a pouch on her hip. She had blonde hair parted down the middle and serious eyes that were impatiently waiting for Hanji to stop gaping and make a move. “Hurry!’

“Petra!” Hanji gestured for Petra to exit the vehicle and waved at Marco to do so too. Both of them followed the order without hesitation and didn’t ask any questions when they noticed the blonde and followed Hanji as she followed the woman.

Their sudden saviour jumped down from the car and ran down a path she created as she went. The butt of her gun connected with many skulls. Corpses fell at her feet, most dead again.

They followed her all the way to a building and hurried with her through the double doors. There was a staircase to the right that the blonde woman headed for, and they followed. They ascended all the way to the top floor and continued to the door at the end, but the woman paused before even attempting to open the door. They were all breathing heavily and leaned against the wall to catch their breaths.

“I know I saved you,” she said, “but if you try anything I swear I will not hesitate to slit your throats. I am a former veteran, I know how to kill.” The fire in her eyes and her intimidating stance made Petra and Marco shiver. They both nodded vigorously, but everyone turned to Hanji since she hadn’t responded to the threat.

Hanji had a finger to her chin and her eyes were squinted in that way that Petra knew so well. The orange-blonde dashed forward and immediately put a hand on Hanji’s wrist, but the older woman ignored it and instead grinned at the blonde.

“Why did you save us? Did you make the car explode, so that the heat generated from the explosion would draw them away and allow us to escape? What is your name? Are you alone?”

Petra would have sighed in exasperation if the situation hadn’t been so serious. Instead she panicked and quickly waved her hands. “I’m sorry for her rude questions. Hanji can’t read an atmosphere at all.”

The blonde didn’t respond at all, instead she stared at them for a long while with narrowed eyes. She made eye contact with each of them, and though Marco looked away Petra didn’t. She felt as if the woman was trying to decide if they were to be trusted or not, so she figured that maintaining eye contact would reassure her that she had nothing to hide and no ill intentions. Hanji took the glance as a challenge and refused to look away even after the blonde had.

Their saviour sighed deeply, and when she looked at them again her hostile expression had melted away and she smiled warily at them.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, but I just had to make sure you guys won’t kill me in my sleep.”

“How do you know we won’t?” Hanji asked and squinted. She gripped the rim of her glasses between her fingers and adjusted the object properly on the bridge of her nose.

“I can read people very easily. You three aren’t a threat, and I can see that you’ve just been through a lot. Especially that boy,” she pointed at Marco. “My name is Nanaba, by the way.”

“Nanaba.” Hanji grinned more broadly and provided her hand. “I am Hanji, this is Petra at my side and the guy over there is Marco.” They shook hands.

“Thank you for saving us, truly. If there is anything I can do to repay you.” Petra shook Nanaba’s hand too and marvelled at the gentle hold even though the woman’s hands were large.

Nanaba smiled genuinely. “Just don’t make me regret saving you.”

Petra couldn’t help but smile too. “We will try our best.”

Marco still looked out of it and by then everyone had noticed, so Nanaba opened the door and ushered them all in. Petra guided the teen over to the lounge and helped him sit down. He looked pale and exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept in days. Well, Petra supposed that they all felt that way. Who could really sleep when the world had turned into this dystopia?

“Would you guys like some tea?” Nanaba asked after she removed her weaponry by the door and placed them down on the dining room table. She also made sure to secure all of the locks on the door, and there were many.

“Yes please!” Hanji exclaimed happily. She stretched her arms above her head and released a long sigh of relief. “Gee, am I glad we weren’t eaten.”

This time Petra felt it appropriate to roll her eyes. “Only you can bounce back so fast.”

Hanji laughed happily and pulled Petra into a one armed hug. “We survived; of course I’m happy now! We weren’t eaten, so I won’t dwell on it.”

“That’s a good philosophy to follow.” Nanaba commented as she entered the room with a tray of cups and placed it down on the coffee table. She plopped down on the couch in front of them and stretched her long legs out in front of her. Much like Hanji had done before, she uttered a relieved sigh after her bones clicked satisfyingly back into place.

“So, Nanaba, why did you decide to help us out?” Hanji was eager to ask. She retrieved a cup for herself and gulped everything down in one go. She barely even noticed the burn in her throat due to the hot liquid.

“I was on my way back from going to one of the stores when I saw you get stuck. My conscience battled with me not to simply walk away, so I decided to help you out.” She sat forward and grinned. “Besides, more people are better than less.”

Hanji nodded. “Increasing your numbers is a good idea to better ensure protection and survival. By the way, how did you know what to do to distract the dead?”

Nanaba shrugged. “I figured a grenade should work, and it did. Do you know what those things react to?”

“Heat.”

Nanaba’s blonde eyebrow lifted. “Huh, interesting. I guess that makes more sense.”

Hanji took a breath to add more to the discovery, but Petra nudged her side and scooted closer. “Nanaba, we apologise for the intrusion. When would you like us to leave?”

Nanaba ran a hand through her short hair. “You can stay the night, I guess. It’s been lonely around here since this mess started, so I would appreciate the company.”

Petra smiled. “Are you sure? I really would hate to be a bother.”

Nanaba shrugged. “I don’t mind. Besides, like I said earlier, if any of you decide to try anything I can kill you before you even see me.”

The calm and confident way she said it made Petra believe that it was the absolute truth. She nodded. “I have no desire to do anything bad. We just want to live through this night and hopefully the next.”

At that Nanaba grinned. “Then we have something in common.”

Petra couldn’t help but blush slightly at that attractive smile. She didn’t have much more time to look at it, to her strange dismay, because a sudden shrill cry echoed down the hall and worry suddenly clouded over Nanaba’s features. The blonde’s eyes flickered over the other’s faces for a second before she stood and made for the passage.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

Hanji watched her go with a frown, now suspicious. What had that cry been? Was it a person? What if it was a zombie, or a hostage?

Petra, however, paled after hearing the sound.

Moments later Nanaba walked calmly back into the room, but this time she had a small bundle protectively pressed to her chest. She disappeared into the kitchen and then returned to sit back down on the couch. Hanji watched her every move, and when she finally caught sight of what was in Nanaba’s arms, her eyes widened.

It was an infant. A small, blonde child.

Nanaba looked at them sheepishly. “I prefer to leave her alone rather than take her out with me. It’s awful to have to do, but the only way.” She lifted a bottle of milk and watched as it was happily accepted and the baby’s previous crying quieted down.

“Is that… your baby?” Petra asked softly.

Nanaba looked up and smiled proudly. “Yeah. My daughter. Her name is Nova.”

Despite feeling intense pity for the woman, because of the fact that she had to raise a child in this new cruel world, Petra couldn’t help but smile at the cute noises the little girl was making as she drank.

Nova was cradled perfectly in Nanaba’s left arm, while her right hand held the bottle. She watched the tiny blonde drink, and Petra felt warmth grow in her chest when she saw how much care and gentleness entered Nanaba’s eyes while she glanced down at her daughter.

“Where is the father?” Hanji asked suddenly.

Nanaba chuckled softly so as not to startle Nova. “Her mother and I ended things before she was born. Once she was born Nova was left in my care.” Nanaba sighed. “In a sense I’m relieved. Having someone this helpless to worry over is enough. I don’t need to protect a lover too.”

Petra stood and went to sit by Nanaba. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “But it must be difficult to be here all alone.” Her eyes were filled with concern. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“I wouldn’t trust anyone with my daughter anyway,” Nanaba answered. “Even I don’t know what to do half the time. My entire life has turned upside down and the only thing keeping me together is her,” she looked down at Nova with a fond smile. “My daughter is my new reason to live. As long as she is here I will protect her with my life.”

Petra’s chest tightened in sadness for Nanaba but it swelled with adoration at her for the conviction and absolute love she so obviously had for the tiny life now in her hands.

Marco had all but been forgotten by the others, so when he coughed loudly and everyone looked at him he grinned sheepishly. “S-sorry, I ruined the moment.”

Hanji laughed. “Nah.”

“Marco, are you okay?” Petra’s brows furrowed in concern once more. Ever since they had reached the car Marco had been acting strange, and he looked even worse now than before.

Marco attempted his best fake smile and waved his hand but quickly returned it to his shoulder. They would notice soon, he was sure, so he decided to forget about how awful a person he felt for asking in that moment, and asked anyway.

“U-um, is it okay if I maybe take a shower and borrow some clothes?”

“Sure!” Nanaba smiled at him. “Petra, could you hold her for me?” When Petra’s eyes widened in surprise Nanaba laughed. “Don’t look so shocked. I told you, I can read people. The worst you could do is refuse to give her back because of how cute she is.” Nanaba placed the empty bottle down on the coffee table and gently put Nova to her shoulder to burp her. After that she wrapped her up in her blanket again and gingerly handed her over to Petra.

“Are you sure…? I mean, what if I do something wrong?”

Nanaba smiled to reassure her. “I’m only going to show him to the bathroom and get him some clothes. Just hold her like that, support her head and wait until I get back.” Nanaba showed Petra how to hold her and then nodded in satisfaction. “Look at that, she’s already dozing off.”

Petra stared at Nova in wonder, temporarily forgetting about the horrors they had faced. She allowed the tiny, peaceful face to fill her entire vision and she felt her heart absolutely melt when Nova gripped onto her offered finger. The grip was surprisingly firm. She was also warm, despite being so small. Her hair was as blonde as Nanaba’s, and Petra had no doubt in her mind that Nanaba was definitely the other half of this child. She was sure that the eye colour would be exactly the same too. Petra even wondered if Nova would one day be as tall as Nanaba.

The bright smile on her face was contagious, and Hanji couldn’t help but join Petra on the seat and look over her shoulder at Nova.

When everything had happened no one had stopped to think about things like children. It was sad to think that so many had probably died already.

“She’s beautiful,” Hanji commented.

Petra’s breath caught and she nodded in agreement. “I’ve never seen a baby more precious.” Maybe it was the fact that all they had seen was death, and now she was holding the very product of life. Maybe Nova was just that cute. But when Petra felt that warmth seep through the blanket and the tiny hand around her finger tighten, she suddenly felt like there was hope. Like there was a ray of sunshine at the end of this dark, clouded nightmare.

XxX

The very early morning air was chilly and moist, making both girls shiver despite having adapted to the cold. After discovering the mess that Rose city was most likely in they took the smart option and decided to travel along a different road, the one that wound around Rose. It would add a lot more hours to their journey to Sina, but it was better than having to go through the city if the place was a disaster.

It had been some hours since then, and the morning was approaching. It was still well into the darkness, but the few visible stars were disappearing. At one stage Annie became too exhausted to drive and Mikasa had to take the wheel.

The black haired girl hadn’t complained about it and had in fact been hoping Annie would ask for a break. She could see how the smaller blonde was pushing herself to remain strong, but even they needed sleep. Especially now. There might not be other cars on the road but one never knows what to expect.

Mikasa expected them to ride well into the late morning before they reached the turn off from the highway, but that amount of time was extended even further when she spotted a gas station up ahead and decided that for their health and safety she would stop there so that they could get some rest.

“Annie, I’m stopping at the station up ahead,” Mikasa announced firmly.

Annie’s eyes blinked open and she slowly sat up straight. She had been napping against the door at an odd angle, so now her body ached but she at least felt a slight bit more alert.

“How long was I out?” Annie asked.

“I’d guess half an hour at most. I haven’t been driving for long.” Mikasa checked the rear-view and side mirrors, out of habit, and then turned left off of the road and onto the parking lot of the garage.

Annie blew an unimpressed breath through her nose. “Felt like less.”

Mikasa sighed softly and chose not to respond. She parked the car in the spot closest to the building and then unclipped her seatbelt. “We should head inside to see if there are any of them here, or survivors. Then we should take whatever stock we can.”

Annie copied Mikasa’s motion of removing her seatbelt and followed her out of the vehicle. She also chose to remain silent, since she didn’t feel the need to be sociable. They were both reminded then that they were lucky to be similar with that one trait. Most people would want to fill the silence, to talk, but the both of them were completely fine with the silence even if it went on for hours. Sometimes the quiet told them more than words could, and their company was enough to comfort the other.

They walked together towards the store, surprised when the lights were actually on. Both had their weapon of choice ready and gripped tightly in both hands.

The door created a jingle against the bell hanging at the top when Mikasa pushed the door open, and the sounds inside surprised them both. A radio sat on the counter beside the cash register, on and up to full volume. It wasn’t a radio station playing though, but a CD inside that was set to repeat. A once popular country song was playing, and it made Mikasa and Annie share an uncomfortable look.

Mikasa decided not to touch it yet, not until they cleared the building. She signalled for Annie to check the other side of the store while she checked the back room, and when she disappeared through the door Annie stiffly walked through the aisles.

An uncomfortable feeling made her throat tighten and Annie tried her best to ignore it. She tightened her grip on the handgun pressed to her palms and kept the weapon aimed in front of her. When she reached the end of the aisles and discovered nothing out of the ordinary Annie relaxed her pose and let the gun lower.

Behind her the music continued to play, masking the dragging footsteps luring ever closer. Mikasa had yet to return and yet to switch the radio off, so Annie was unaware of what approached from behind. She hadn’t turned around yet and when she finally registered the familiar sound of a broken groan and whirled around, it was already too late.

The thing was on her in seconds and her gun ended up falling to the ground. As if doing so with conscious intent, the zombie knocked the gun away with a clumsy step forward. Its hands reached out for Annie but then it changed its mind and suddenly jumped at her like a wild dog. Annie’s eyes widened in surprise and fear, and then she fell backwards and landed painfully hard on her back. The wind rushed out of her lungs and bright colours flashed across her eyes for a second.

The zombie noticed nothing and clamped its jaws down onto Annie’s forearm, sinking its teeth in and uttering a guttural moan of satisfaction.

Annie cried out in surprise and pressed her free hand flat against the thing’s forehead in an attempt to push it away. But it was so strong and its jaws were stronger. The blonde could feel the thing’s teeth biting down harder, and the force was almost unbelievable.

Annie felt an intense urge to yell for Mikasa, but adrenalin surged through her entire body in a split second and her eyes quickly darted around for anything that she could use to smash the zombie’s head.

Its groans were almost louder than the music now, frantic. The zombie used its hands to grip more firmly onto Annie’s arm and this time the blonde grunted in pain. She looked around again, absolutely desperate. At least the thing hadn’t started chomping yet; it was merely remaining with its jaws dug deep into its victim. Annie didn’t even have time to wonder why, because her panic was starting to override her senses and if she didn’t get it off now she would be done for.

As luck would have it in a rather unlucky situation, Annie managed to use her free arm and legs to push herself towards one of the shelves. With sheer power she managed to position them perfectly, and then she used her shoulder to tip the shelf over. The zombie, still attached to her arm, was crushed when the heavy metal shelf fell on top of him. It wasn’t dead though, but had released Annie in surprise, if it was possible for them to even feel surprised.

Annie immediately snatched her gun from the ground and emptied the magazine out into the things rotting skull.

Her heart was still pounding, the adrenalin was painful. Annie’s eyes were wide and glossed over, and she barely even noticed when the radio was smashed and when Mikasa appeared in front of her.

“Annie? What happened? Are you okay?” Mikasa ran her eyes over Annie’s body in panic and her eyes widened when she spotted the bite mark through Annie’s shirt. “Annie, you were bitten.” She grabbed the smaller blonde’s arm to inspect the wound, and expected Annie to offer some form of resistance and reply harshly, but all she did was stare wide eyed at Mikasa.

“Annie, snap out of it. Talk to me, what happened?”

Mikasa slowly lifted the shirt, wondering why there was no blood. Her body relaxed in relief when she saw the arm brace where the bite had been. She took that off too, she had to make sure the zombie hadn’t bitten through. Luckily it hadn’t, and Annie had no wounds.

Relief and panic both washed over Mikasa in waves and before she knew it she was embracing Annie tightly to her body. Annie held her too, almost too tightly. They were both breathing hard and their hearts were racing, for the same reason.

Annie had almost just died, and Mikasa had almost lost her.

The realization of that made them both panic internally. Mikasa put on a cool mask, however, because Annie was by far more shocked than she was. It was difficult at first, but eventually Mikasa managed to get Annie out of the store and back inside of the car. She helped the blonde into the back and made sure all the front doors were locked before she climbed in too and shut the boot.

Now inside, Mikasa trembled and lifted her eyes to see if Annie was still okay. But Annie surprised her by flipping her onto her back and pinning her down onto the floor of the trunk. Mikasa released a breath of surprise and her eyes widened.

Annie’s chest heaved, her face burnt red and her eyes were wide. “Mikasa,” Annie said softly, intensely, with a heavy note Mikasa had never heard in her voice before.

“Annie…”

The blonde silenced any possible words from Mikasa’s lips by leaning down and capturing them. She initiated a kiss so fiery that Mikasa could not control the deep moan that parted between their kiss. She could taste Annie in her mouth, on her tongue, feel her on her lips. Her heart pounded in her ears and a sudden desperation built up in her chest. Suddenly Mikasa wrapped her arms tightly around Annie’s shivering body, and then she kissed back even more passionately and felt tears pour over her cheeks as the intense emotions swept through them both.

They only pulled away from the kiss to remove clothing and once bare they returned to enthusiastically devouring each other’s lips and tongue.

Mikasa ran her trembling hands over Annie’s burning skin, memorizing how it felt. The warmth doubled when Annie pressed the length of her body to Mikasa’s, and naked skin moulded upon naked skin.

They kissed and moaned, embraced and trembled. It was desperation to connect deeply with the other, to remind themselves that they were both still alive, still together. The need to confirm their tangibility made them forget that this was happening too soon, too fast. Only the pounding of their hearts, fervent breathing and desperate moans filled their ears. Only the sensation of burning, wet skin registered in their minds.

And it was only the fear of losing the other that made their chests burn so badly.

When it was over and they had long since recovered from the nirvana and exhaustion, Annie lay curled up against Mikasa’s side while a strong arm held her firmly there.

They were both tired, but neither could sleep yet. Both were thinking of what had almost happened a few hours before, and then of what transpired afterwards.

“Annie?”

Mikasa decided that she should be honest about her feelings. After feeling them for so long, after holding them back for what felt like an eternity, it was no longer required to hide them. Either of them could die the next day, so Mikasa at least wanted Annie to know the truth that she hadn’t been able to share since the moment they had met.

“I’m in love with you Mikasa.” Annie spoke first, surprising her dark haired companion into silence. “I’ve always loved you. I don’t see why I should hide it anymore.” She uncurled her body and crawled on top of Mikasa, so that she could look clearly into her face and see the emotion in her eyes. What she saw there made her chest light on fire.

“Me too,” Mikasa said. She allowed a small grin, and then she pressed a kiss to Annie’s forehead. “Sometimes you catch me off guard like that.”

“I know,” Annie pressed her ear to Mikasa’s chest and closed her eyes as she listened to the strong heartbeat.

“I wish you had told me before the world ended.”

Annie sighed. “Me too.”

The grey morning light speared across the sky as morning approached, and the two lost lovers fell asleep entangled together underneath a thin blanket.

XxX

Ymir was content to listen to Krista and Jean share amusing childhood stories. She squinted when the morning sun shot bright light right into her eyes, and grinned to herself when Krista began to giggle. The sound of her little blonde companion laughing was something wondrous to enjoy, so Ymir favoured listening to them and enjoying how adorable Krista sounded.

Despite the situation from before, when Connie had shown his bald face and attempted to kill Ymir, the other two were back into high spirits.

Ymir had made Krista stop half an hour after driving off so that they could switch, and at that time Krista had still been highly upset and shaken up. Jean had been absolutely quiet in the back and was mainly just staring blankly out of the window. Once Ymir started to drive she insisted that Krista tell her about her childhood, and once Krista got started she found it difficult to stop. The more she spoke the lighter the mood became, and then Jean invited himself to the conversation and the two completely forgot about what had happened.

All it took was a few questions on Ymir’s part to take Krista’s mind off of the rough experience, and Ymir was glad.

They were now still traveling along the highway bending around Rose. It was inconvenient and Ymir wasn’t impressed that it would take even longer for them to reach Sina, but she definitely didn’t want to attempt to pass through Rose. That would have probably gotten them killed.

“… so when my mother walked in she found me laying on the ground, with a bunch of potatoes around me in a circle,” Krista said with a laugh. Jean furrowed his brows and laughed too.

“What the hell?”

“I know. Sasha refused to let me know what she was doing, and I had a blindfold… on…” Suddenly Krista’s expression fell, and then she stopped talking all together.

Ymir realized why Krista’s mood suddenly dropped, so she decided to change the topic before Krista could dwell too much on where her friends were and if they were still alive.

“Krista, I forgot to mention this earlier,” she waited for Krista to turn around in the seat and regard her before she continued, “that you drove better than I expected. Nice job, squirt.” Ymir flashed a naughty grin Krista’s way and grinned wider in delight when it made Krista blush.

“R-really?”

“Yes really. I taught you well.”

Krista’s face brightened and her sunshine had returned. “Thanks Ymir! I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you, so thank you for teaching me. If there is anything I can do to say thanks, just let me know.”

Ymir cocked an eyebrow. “Anything?”

Krista nodded vigorously. “Yes, anything!”

Now Ymir’s grin turned into a devilish smirk. “Alright. Strip for me whenever I want you to.”

Krista’s enthusiasm died away and embarrassment and shock took over. “Y-Ymir! I can’t do that!”

Ymir pouted. “But you said anything.”

“Anything but that.”

“Fine,” Ymir sighed and scratched her freckled cheek. “Read dirty magazines to me again.”

“Not that either!”

“Kiss me whenever I ask, then?”

“Ymiiiir!”

“I’m kidding, geez.” Ymir rolled her eyes at how red Krista’s face was. “You’d swear I just asked you for sex or something.”

And Krista’s blush intensified. Krista started a full on pout and folded her arms across her chest. She focused all of her willpower on making the blush go away, but she kept imagining herself doing Ymir’s requests and it sent a fresh blush her way.

“Hey,” Ymir glanced way from the road for a second to give Krista a worried look, “I really was only kidding. Stop looking so scared.”

Krista exhaled. “I’m not s-scared.”

“That what is it? Does the thought of what I asked creep you out or something?”

Krista mumbled something under her breath, and then she surprised Ymir with a quick kiss on the cheek. “I don’t mind the kiss… I guess… it’s just embarrassing.” Krista refused to look at Ymir’s face, because she expected to be teased and to see that smirk. But when Ymir grew absolutely silent Krista finally looked at her, and then she felt a foreign smirk tug at her lips.

“Ymir~”

“What?”

Krista leaned over and rested her chin on Ymir’s shoulder. “Are you bluuuushing?”

Ymir’s eyes widened slightly and she shrugged to get Krista off of her. “Shut up, midget. I don’t blush.”

Krista pressed a finger to Ymir’s cheek. “Then why are your freckles so red?”

Ymir swallowed. “Sh-shut up!”

Krista just laughed. Suddenly Jean interrupted the moment by scooting closer and giving Krista a look.

“You two sure flirt a lot. Are you dating or something?”

Krista flushed red again and Ymir’s eyebrow twitched. “None of your damn business, horse face.” Ymir snarled at him. She was still embarrassed about Krista’s sudden sweetness, and now the moment had been ruined by the jerk she didn’t even want there.

Jean lifted his hands. “Sorry, sorry.” He sat back and folded his arms across his chest. He frowned, now thinking about Connie again. Without Krista to distract him, his mind was bound to wonder. Luckily it wouldn’t be allowed to wonder far, because Ymir spoke up and caught his attention.

“Goddamn, there’s a gas station. We can stop there to fill up on gas and loot the store.” As she said it Ymir turned into the small parking lot. She noted the other car there and frowned. It looked like it hadn’t been there for long.

“I wonder if people haven’t looted the place already,” Jean commented.

“Ymir, do you think they are survivors?” Krista watched the other vehicle carefully.

Ymir shrugged. “Both of you stay here and I’ll check it out. Maybe they’re dead already. Don’t come out until I come back and keep the doors locked.” Ymir grabbed her gun and exited the car. Krista had no choice but to obey and quickly locked the door as soon as it was closed.

The freckled brunette slowly stepped towards the vehicle. She was ready for any possibility and hoped that if the owners of the car weren’t dead then they wouldn’t look for trouble.

She approached the front first and noticed the front seats empty, so she walked around to the back and glanced through the window by the boot. The sight that greeted her made Ymir’s eyes widen. She immediately looked away and then uncomfortably ran a hand through her hair.

“Well, at least people are still getting some even though it’s the end of the world…” She glanced once more through the window.

There were two girls, both bare and wrapped around each other. It was pretty obvious to Ymir what happened, and she wasn’t merely being a pervert. She had to make sure they were actually alive and hadn’t died in there or something.

Ymir cupped her hands around her eyes and pressed close to the glass to get a good view, and then she released a breath when she noted their even breathing. They were just sleeping, not dead.

After leaving the lovebirds to sleep Ymir checked inside the store. She grimaced at the zombie mess on the floor and guessed that the couple in the car were responsible. The store was mostly still full of products, so Ymir leisurely walked through the aisles and chose a few snacks. She then went over to the magazine section and selected a few porno magazines that suited her taste.

“Hmmm…” She slowly paged through one, tilting her head here and there as she flipped pages and scanned the printed images of scarcely dressed models.

Satisfied with her goods, Ymir left the store with a jingle and made her way back to Krista and Jean.

“The store is stocked full, so I got some stuff for us now. We can fetch more essential stuff just now.” She tossed the magazines onto the driver’s seat and leaned against the car, chewing on a piece of biltong she had taken.

“Is everything okay?” Krista appeared beside her and glanced up at Ymir in question.

“There’s one zombie inside but it looks like the lovers took care of it already.”

Krista’s brows furrowed. “Lovers?”

“Oh,” Ymir swallowed and then she grinned and pointed at the other car. “I checked and there are survivors. They’re girls and alive.”

Krista’s eyes lit up. “Oh! We should go and say hi!”

She made to walk towards the car but Ymir immediately pulled her back by grabbing the back of her shirt. “Hey!”

“I wouldn’t,” Ymir said. “They had sex last night.”

Krista paused and blushed. “H-how do you know?”

“Well, both of them are ass naked and sleeping on each other.”

“Oh…” Krista returned to leaning against the car beside Ymir and looked down at her feet. “Can we wait for them to get out of the car before we leave?”

Ymir paused in her chewing. “Krista, we-”

“Please. What if they don’t know about Sina? We can help them. They can even help us!”

Ymir stared at Krista with narrowed, fierce eyes, and then she sighed in defeat. “Sure. Can’t hurt to wait. If they end up causing trouble then it’s all your fault.”

Krista smiled brightly. “I’ll gladly take responsibility!

Inside of the car Annie stirred and flinched at the bright light spraying across her face. She lifted herself from Mikasa’s body and raised a hand to block the sunlight. With the sharp light temporarily held off, Annie cracked her eyes open and then yawned loudly. She was about to just lay back down and sleep a little more, but then she heard loud laughter from outside and immediately froze.

“Stop being so short!” someone yelled from outside and laughed again.

Annie’s eyes widened and her drowsiness fell away. She sat up on Mikasa’s stomach and took to roughly shaking her shoulders. “Mikasa, wake up.”

Mikasa’s eyes opened and she sent an icy glare up at the blonde on top of her. “Annie, you better have a-”

“Shh, listen.”

Mikasa quieted and did as she was told. Even though she was still tired and half asleep, she focused her trained hearing and waited to hear the sound of shuffling feet or mindless groans. Instead she heard a giggle and then a shout of protest.

“Someone is here,” Mikasa pointed out. Annie nodded.

“What should we do?”

Mikasa sat up and glanced over Annie’s naked shoulder, out of the window. What she saw very nearly stopped her heart, and when Annie saw the sudden shock take her features she quickly turned and looked too.

“Krista…” Mikasa whispered, unbelieving.

“It’s Krista…” Annie said.

Outside Krista was about ready to give Ymir a head-butt. The brunette had started to tease her again, and even Jean had started to join in. The blonde couldn’t reach Ymir’s head though, so she folded her arms across her chest and pouted. “Ymir, you big meanie.”

“Oh come on, it’s the truth.” Ymir turned to Jean for support. “Right?”

Jean shrugged. “Look, I can’t take sides. Leave me out of it.”

Ymir snorted and rolled her eyes. “Don’t have the balls to be honest?”

“You just don’t say that kind of stuff to a girl…”

“Hey doofus, I am a girl.”

Jean shrugged. “Sure.”

Ymir sighed in irritation. “Krista, you are short. There is nothing wrong with pointing that out if it’s the truth.”

Krista whirled around and glared up at Ymir. “But not when you mock me for it!”

Ymir opened her mouth to respond, but then the sound of a door opening and banging closed made her hand shoot to her gun and immediately withdraw it. Before she could aim or even register what was happening, she heard an unfamiliar voice utter a familiar name.

“Krista?”

Krista froze. Her eyes widened to saucers, and when she turned around they brimmed with tears. She took a step forward, her eyes glued to the two girls that had finally woken and gotten out of the truck.

“Mi…” Krista tried to speak, but her tongue refused to work. She blinked, as if unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Krista!” Annie yelled, face flush with relief and happiness.

The sudden exclamation melted Krista’s stiffness, and then she broke out into a run and collapsed against her two friends.

“Mikasa! Annie!” Krista sobbed loudly and buried her face against Annie’s neck. “You’re both alive, you’re alive!”

Annie and Mikasa both had tears in their eyes too, but they retained more of their composure. They did sink to the ground with Krista, though, and held onto her as if letting her go would allow her to simply disappear.

Ymir and Jean shared a look, but did not interfere. They could both see that a reunion was happening. Ymir was just getting upset with how long they were hugging, and she did not trust strangers. But she guessed Krista knew them by the way she was sobbing and clinging onto them, so she let it happen.

“We were hoping to meet you in Sina,” Mikasa said first after Krista had calmed from sobbing to just crying. “But we never expected to cross paths like this, so soon.”

“How have you been?” Annie asked. She pulled back to inspect Krista’s body. Mikasa did the same and they both uttered a collective sigh of relief when Krista appeared healthy, strong and uninjured.

Krista smiled so brightly up at them that they both had to smile back. “So much has happened,” the little blonde said. “But I’m just so glad that we’re back together.”

XxX

Marco stared holes into his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was coated with steam, but a hand swipe over it was all it took to clear the surface enough to see a reflection.

He continued to stare. His face wasn’t as pale as before, and his fever had gone down. What was even more relieving was the fact that Marco’s bite wound had completely healed. Maybe it was more alarming than relieving, but Marco didn’t want to think about the possibilities.

He had thought a lot during his shower, though. Nanaba was being too kind to them, letting complete strangers stay in her home even though she had an infant daughter. Marco knew that he could no longer keep the bite a secret. What if he turned and ended up hurting someone? Hurting Nova? He didn’t even want to imagine himself hurting an innocent child. So Marco had made up his mind. It would take bravery on his part, but he would ask to speak to Hanji and then he would tell her. How she would respond was a mystery to him, but he knew that he couldn’t back down no matter what. He had to confess about it, he just had to. The guilt in his gut was eating at him enough. He didn’t need to worry about what would happen if he turned, too.

Marco nodded to himself, and then he turned towards the clothes Nanaba had been kind enough to provide him with.

In the lounge Nanaba and Petra sat side by side, engaged in a heated discussion about a television program that used to be popular. It was already late afternoon and everyone had grown more comfortable around each other.

Hanji sat with them too, but she had Nova with her. She was lifting the little girl in her arms and making funny faces, making her crack smiles and giggle as much as she was able to. Each time she did giggle, Nanaba would pause the conversation to glance over at her and smile. Each time she did this Nova would smile right back.

“So, we ended up having to head back to Rose. I was actually unconscious at the time and Hanji carried me all the way.” Petra had been explaining to Nanaba how they ended up where she had found them. The conversation had changed topics to their stories of survival, and it wasn’t as difficult to recount as Petra had thought it would be, but a lot of gruesome details had been left out.

“So Sina is a safe zone, huh? I had no idea.”

Nova was being lifted by Hanji again, who was grinning up at her and sticking her tongue out. Nova smiled but then she looked over at Nanaba and reached out towards her.

“Whoa, looks like the little one wants her daddy,” Hanji said and handed the small blonde back to her parent.

“Tired of playing with aunty Hanji, Nova?” Nanaba nuzzled Nova’s tuft of blonde hair and then she kissed her tenderly on the forehead. Nova reached out and placed her hand flat against Nanaba's cheek.

“She missed her daddy,” Hanji cooed at them and then laughed when Petra sighed in exasperation.

“Of course she would miss a wonderful parent like you,” Petra added. She smiled when Nanaba grinned at her.

“I think I like that,” Nanaba said.

“Like what?” Petra asked.

“Being called her daddy.” Nanaba grinned when Nova grabbed her nose and giggled when her daddy squinted her eyes.

“I think it suits you.” Hanji gave Nanaba a pat on the shoulder. “You should be real proud of her.”

“If I manage to feel any more pride I think my heart will swell too big and explode.”

Nova’s eyes were closing even though she was trying to keep them open, so Nanaba held her gently against her chest and made sure that her daughter could hear her heartbeat. It was the quickest way to send the little one off to dreamland. The sound of her father’s heartbeat was Nova’s favourite lullaby.

“Hanji, Petra,” Nanaba spoke up softly and ran a finger gently down the side of Nova’s face. “Do you think we could tag along to Sina?”

“Of course!” Hanji and Petra both exclaimed their approval together, though in a whisper.

“We were actually going to ask you to join.”

“Yeah,” Hanji added, “we don’t really know each other but we can’t imagine leaving you alone here with little Nova. Besides, with all of us she will be better protected too.”

For once Petra whole heartedly agreed.

Nanaba smiled. “Thank you so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.” She lifted Nova’s tiny hand and felt her heart swell when her little girl suddenly wrapped her tiny fingers around her thumb. They were so small. Nanaba always marvelled at how small Nova was, and she often worried that she would break her.

“We can leave whenever you want, but I think getting there as soon as possible is a good idea.”

Nanaba nodded slightly. “I agree. The north side of Rose is all but destroyed. Some survivors passing through set some fires and a few buildings exploded. The city won’t stand much longer.”

“But we’ll need to make a proper plan of escape. I don’t think a car will be safe here. There are just too many of them.”

Nanaba gently pressed her cheek to the top of Nova’s head and placed a kiss there. “I’m sure we can come up with something.”

“U-um…” Marco appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and spoke up hesitantly. He was dressed in a pair of shorts and a black shirt that Nanaba hadn’t worn in years.

“Marco, what’s up?” This time Hanji was the one asking.

Marco’s eyes flicked over to the slumbering baby, and then to Nanaba who was staring at him with suspicion. He knew why. Since the moment he stepped through the door he hadn’t even tried to participate in the conversation, or offer any information about himself. He had been acting suspiciously, and he knew it. The guilt in his gut only grew.

“Hanji, can I please talk to you alone?”

Hanji seemed surprised, but then she nodded and followed Marco into the passage. Once there Marco turned to her but kept his eyes on the ground.

“H-Hanji, u-um… there’s something I need to confess.”

Hanji grew serious and her expression sobered. “Alright, I’m listening.”

His stomach churned, and it suddenly felt like he was about to throw up. But he forced it down and sucked in a deep breath. After a few more breaths he had built up the courage, and then he looked up and determinedly met Hanji’s curious eyes.

“When we reached the car I was bitten by a zombie on the shoulder.” Immediately after the sentence left his lips Marco slumped in relief.

Hanji hardly reacted, but her eyes did slightly widen. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I… I was scared,” Marco admitted. “I’ve seen someone get… killed after being bitten. Killed by a comrade. I’m scared of dying.”

“But you do know that logically you are dead now. If the bite does spread the infection then I assume you’re already halfway dead.”

Marco shook his head. “I don’t think so. The wound healed.”

Hanji blinked. “What?”

Marco moved the shirt to expose the area where he had been bitten, and just as he said, it was healed. Not even a scar remained and there was only smooth, clear skin. “It was still there when we got here, but when I showered it was gone. Do you… do you think I’ll still change?”

Hanji hummed under her breath. “What are your symptoms?”

“The wound burned more than it should have and I had a fever. But the fever has gone down and I don’t feel bad. In fact, I’m feeling better than I did when we woke up this morning.”

Hanji nodded and pressed a fist to her chin. “We have no way to know if a bite really infects.”

“So what will we do?”

“I think,” Hanji placed a hand on his shoulder, her fingers curled around her chin in thought. “I think we won’t say anything to the others, but I will observe you closely. If I notice any irregularities I will tell you, and if you turn I will kill you.”

Marco swallowed. Well, it was better than he had expected, at least. “So you’ll wait to see what happens to me, if I turn?” Hanji nodded. “But what if I turn while everyone is asleep?”

Hanji grinned. “Don’t worry at all. Leave this to me. Just carry on like normal and try to forget that you might by turning into a living dead person.”

Marco couldn’t help but smile awkwardly at Hanji’s strange words. “Okay. Thank you for listening, Hanji. And for not killing me on the spot.”

Hanji’s glasses glinted as she bowed her head and grinned. “Oh, the pleasure is mine Marco. The pleasure is all mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	14. Chapter 14

“...I’m just so glad we’re back together.”

Ymir watched as Krista laughed joyfully and continued to hug the other two girls. A feeling brewed in her chest, something unfamiliar and despicable, but she quickly pushed it down when Krista turned her sparkling blue eyes to her.

“Ymir!” Krista grinned and beckoned her over. Ymir reluctantly approached the reunited trio and regarded the couple disdainfully. She didn’t trust them one bit, even though they were Krista’s friends. Or maybe that was why she didn’t trust them - _because_ they were Krista’s friends.

“Yeah?” Ymir sighed, trying to appear bored. Krista frowned but parted from her friends to stand next to Ymir.

“Mikasa, Annie - this is Ymir. She’s been with me since we got separated, and she’s helped me survive. I would have died without her,” Krista explained. As she spoke, she seemed to subconsciously lean closer to Ymir. Annie and Mikasa watched their interactions closely. Ymir rolled her eyes.

“Ymir,” Krista continued, “these are my best friends, Mikasa and Annie. We always hung out together at school and- hey, um… where’s the rest of the class? And Sasha, isn’t she with you?”

At the sudden reminder of Sasha, both girls paled and looked away with pained expressions. Mikasa lowered her head and Annie placed her hand to her shoulder. Krista watched their reactions with a morbid sense of foreboding, jumping to conclusions too fast for her mind to process. As their silence answered her, Krista stood in shock and failed to react when Ymir poked her side.

Ymir kept her face clear of any emotion, but deep down she worried for Krista. She had always thought that her classmates had been all slaughtered by the undead, mainly because her pessimistic side brought out the negativity in any situation. However, seeing and hearing it from survivors was different. Knowing their story, and all the troubles that went with it, certainly brought an element of frightening reality. These people were _dead_ , they weren’t coming back, and that hit Krista the hardest.

“We were with Levi,” Mikasa started, voice surprisingly shaky, “we had every means possible to survive. We were efficient, we were a good team. But everything went to hell when we were suddenly ambushed. Levi was bitten, I killed him, and I tried to lead, but then Eren acted on his impulses and divided the group. We were caught off guard, and as we tried to escape… only Annie and I survived. Sasha… Krista, forgive me, I couldn’t protect her…” Mikasa trailed off as she bit her lip. Annie turned Mikasa around and pulled her down for an embrace. The black-haired girl choked back her sobs and shook her head against Annie’s neck, futilely resisting her comfort but craving it at the same time.

All of Krista’s memories with the perky brunette rushed back to the blonde with enough force to knock her out of her shocked state. Ymir stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Krista stared at the brunette for a long time, then shook her head with rivulets streaming down her cheeks. Her shiny tears dripped from her chin to puddle on the concrete beneath her, the only sound in the immediate area.

Krista sniffed and kept her head bowed as she fled to Ymir’s car, jumping into the back seat and locking the doors behind her. Ymir instantly stomped over and banged on the window, demanding that Krista got out, but it had no effect on the blonde. Krista curled in on herself and refused to answer to anyone’s calls.

Jean pulled Ymir back and pushed her away from the car. Ymir nearly pulled out her gun and shot him, but decided not to at the last second. She didn’t need any more troubles than she had now. Instead, she pushed Jean away and flipped him off as she marched to the store. Breaking things would be enough to calm her down. Jean shook his head and looked at Krista’s shuddering figure sadly.

When Mikasa calmed down enough to function on her own, she gave Annie a small smile before pulling away and looking at the car where Krista had locked herself in. She turned around and saw Jean standing awkwardly by the gas pumps. Annie raised an eyebrow and Jean sighed as he approached them. Blushing slightly, he refused to look Mikasa in the eye and instead stared down at Annie. Both of their emotionless gazes unnerved him greatly.

“Hi, I’m Jean,” he said. He extended his hand out and flinched when Mikasa gripped it firmly and shook it. He bit his lip to suppress a groan of pain when Annie grabbed his hand when Mikasa released it and squeezed it even harder.

“Mikasa.”

“Annie.”

Jean laughed nervously and backed away, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, uh... I was with Krista, then I wasn’t, now I’m with her group again… this doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?”

Mikasa shook her head and Jean sighed, rubbing his temples to control his sudden headache. All of a sudden, it felt like something was eating his heart out. Something was wrong, somewhere, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He suddenly thought of Marco, and felt all trace of a decent mood leave him. Marco…

Jean explained everything to Mikasa and Annie - from when Ymir and Connie first met him to when they left Connie’s transfigured form for the undead to eat. He explained how he had been travelling with three other guys, that two of them were eaten and one of them - his boyfriend - was still missing. Mikasa and Annie looked at each other, finding the story to be strangely familiar but not recalling exactly from where or who they heard it from.

He told them how Connie had managed to break them out of the hotel they were left at, and how he had coerced him into stealing other survivors’ supplies and car to get away. He too wanted revenge on Ymir for leaving him behind, but then realized the better deal was to forget his grudge and work with her to survive. At least until they got to Sina - then he could punch her lights out for being a bitch to him.

When Jean finished retelling his story, he realized that he was starving and left the girls to join Ymir in the gas station store. By then, Krista had calmed down and sat in the middle of the back seat with her knees to her chest, duly watching the gas station lights flicker on and off. She had unlocked the car earlier and listened to the entirety of Jean’s story. Annie made the first move and opened the door to the left of Krista. Mikasa followed and opened the door to the right. Both went in and locked eyes over Krista’s head.

Ymir had finished smashing things inside the store a while ago, and had taken to stuffing her face with food she liked and reading porno magazines. That was how Jean found her, leaning over the counter with a lewd grin and a mouthful of pretzels. Thankfully, both her hands were above the counter.

“Ymir.” Jean made sure to put as much venom in his voice as possible. Ymir ignored him and shoved another handful of pretzels into her mouth. She flipped a page and Jean could’ve sworn he saw a line of red drip from her nose before she hurriedly wiped it away.

“Ymir,” Jean pressed. Finally, she sighed and looked up at him, eyes hooded and bored. Jean stomped over to her and threw her magazine to the side. He slapped the bag of pretzels away from her and glared into her eyes. She seemed to wake up, for she swallowed what was in her mouth and slammed her palms on the table. Good. He had her attention.

“The fuck do you want, Jean?” Ymir snarled.

“What I want,” Jean paused, looked out the window at Ymir’s car, then turned his eyes back to the furious brunette, “what I want is for you to go to Krista and comfort her. She needs you.”

At that, Ymir laughed and turned her nose up. “Needs me? Needs _me?_ How could she possibly need me when she has her two _best friends_ with her? What’s so good about me that can’t be replaced?”

Jean understood then why Ymir seemed so angry, why she had been so upset. She wasn’t mad at Krista, at him, or anyone - she was hurt. She was hurt and she was afraid of Krista leaving her, so she distanced herself and refused to get closer.

“She’s not gonna leave you,” Jean reassured quietly, “she would never even think of doing that.”

Ymir shook her head and evaded his gaze. “I’m not gonna talk about this with you.”

“Krista loves you, she admires you, she looks up to you… how could you even think she would leave you? Because her friends suddenly showed up?”

“Shut up. I don’t need you preaching to me about _friends_ ,” Ymir retorted harshly.

Jean flinched, then his expression morphed to anger. “Stop fucking around, you selfish bitch! Do something for someone else for once, go talk to her and show her that you actually care about her!”

Ymir said nothing and stared at her car. She watched Mikasa pet Krista’s head and Annie rub her back in comfort. Those two had known Krista longer than she had, they had experienced a happy Krista, but did they know her as well as she did? Did they see the full spectrum of Krista’s personality, or just what the blonde wanted to show them? Ymir was convinced only she had seen every single one of Krista’s colours, her demons and her dark side.

“If that was Marco over there,” Jean sniffed and shook his head in embarrassment. His voice trembled heavily. “If that was Marco sitting in the car and crying his eyes out, you can be sure I’d be the first one there to comfort him, even if he doesn’t need or want it. Marco would expect me to be there for him, and it’s the same for Krista. Except… she’s depended on you for so much, that she’s too afraid to ask. She wants you there, Ymir, so go to her.” Jean left and browsed the shelves for something to eat, carefully avoiding the rotten corpse.

Ymir clenched her teeth in aggravation. That asshole just had to hit every nerve, didn’t he? He just had to open his horse mouth and preach to Ymir about what she should do. However, no matter how hard Ymir tried to deny it, she knew he was right. She knew that he had been right about everything, and that she should take his advice if she wanted to show Krista that she cared.

She _did_ care. She cared a lot, more than she should, more than she ever cared for another person before, but she was afraid. She was afraid that, despite how much she cared, Krista would leave her for the comfort of her old friends, or even find someone else. She was afraid of lonely nights arguing with herself, of staying up and missing the warmth from her side. She was afraid of losing the push that harmonized with her pull so perfectly, of losing that connection she knew she’d never be able to find in another person. All of her fears culminated to the simple fact: she was afraid of losing Krista.

And if she didn’t want to lose her, then she’d better get her ass to that car and show her she cared.

Ymir exited the store - whose door had long since been smashed by Ymir’s rampaging - and dragged her feet to the car. The front windows were rolled down for air, and the brunette could hear snippets of conversation between the three inside. They were far too immersed in their conversation to notice her.

“Come with us, Krista.”

“Listen, you don’t need to stay with them anymore. We can protect you far better than either of them.”

“We’ll get you to Sina in one piece, and we’ll all live happily together. Just come with us.”

Ymir’s heart stopped beating, then resumed its functions, albeit much faster. She found it hard to breathe and slowly backed away. This was it. What would Krista say? What would she decide? To be with her old friends, that she often missed and talked about, or to stay with Ymir?

Instead of running away and drawing her own conclusions, Ymir stayed to listen. There was a long silence, before Krista finally spoke up. Her voice made shivers go down the brunette’s spine.

“Why are you asking me to leave my home?”

Ymir raised an eyebrow and chuckled at how cheesy Krista sounded. Her home? What could she possibly mean by that? She ducked and advanced quietly nearer to the car.

“What do you mean, Krista?”

“I mean… Ymir… she’s my home now. I belong with her. You guys asking me to leave her is like asking me to leave home after I just settled in. I can’t do that! And that would hurt Ymir so much… I couldn’t bear to see her upset.”

“How do you know she won’t just-”

“Don’t say it, Mikasa. Please don’t say what I know you’re going to say. Ymir had _so_ many chances to leave me behind, to feed me to _them_ , to use me and throw me away like a tool - _but she didn’t_. She stayed by my side despite all the troubles that came along with it, and risked her life several times just so we could both make it out together. She acted against her own beliefs and even taught me useful skills so that I could be a bit more independent. Annie, Mikasa… Ymir… Ymir has been there for me since the whole thing started and I…” Krista blushed and trailed off, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

Suddenly, Annie understood and gently pushed a lock of hair behind Krista’s head. “I understand. Mikasa, let’s go.”

Mikasa opened her mouth to protest but closed it when Annie glared. She narrowed her eyes and seemed to indicate with her expression that she expected an explanation later. Annie rolled her eyes and got out of the car, followed by Mikasa. Thankfully, Ymir had migrated to the rear end of the car and hadn’t been spotted by either of them.

Before Mikasa left, she placed a sisterly kiss against Krista’s brow and smiled genuinely. “Please don’t misunderstand our intentions. We love you, and want the best for you. We’re so happy that you’re safe, and-”

“Why don’t we travel as a group, then?” Krista spoke up suddenly. Mikasa blinked and thought about it for a bit, then nodded slowly.

“I’ll talk to Annie about it. We’ll figure something out later.”

They both smiled and Mikasa shut the door. Krista sighed and fell against the seat, wondering when Ymir would come. She jumped when the door was opened and slammed shut, then the click of locked doors sounded and Krista’s heart jumped to her throat when a familiar husky voice made her spine shudder.

“Hey.”

Krista looked into Ymir’s deep, brown eyes and struggled to find the right words to say. All she could feel was a sadness unlike any other clogging up her emotions and weighing her heart down.

“H-hey.”

Ymir sighed and scratched the back of her neck. Instead of speaking like Krista thought she would, the brunette instead sat and stared at her for what seemed like forever. Finally, something clicked inside of Krista’s mind and she could not help the loud sniff and sobs that escaped her mouth. She tried to hold them back, which only made it worse and caused her to hiccup abnormally. Eventually, she collapsed against Ymir, who held her to her chest and lied back against the seat. Her strong heartbeat both soothed and frightened Krista. Would she lose Ymir too, like she had lost Sasha?

Ymir said nothing but provided all the comfort Krista needed as the blonde cried herself to sleep in Ymir’s arms.

x

“So just hold her head like this, and feed her the bottle. When she’s done, she’ll let you know because she’ll stick her tongue out. And then, you need to burp her or she’ll have stomach aches.”

“Okay, I understand. Thank you, Nanaba.”

Nanaba smiled and chuckled warmly. “No, thank you, Petra. As much as I hate to admit it, Nova is a lot of work to care for. I’m glad I have someone to help me out.” She put her warm palm to her baby’s covered head, her eyes softening in love and admiration. Petra watched Nanaba’s expressions carefully, and not once did she appear to have faked any of her emotions. She did not appear annoyed, or exasperated, or impatient with her child. What Petra saw made her heart swell and her chest feel warm and light despite the blazing heat.

Nanaba pulled back and suddenly her expression changed to something funny. Petra giggled when Nanaba began to sniff the air, then slowly she grinned when Petra caught on and sniffed as well. Both looked at Nova and laughed, especially when the baby gurgled happily and flailed her limbs around.

“I guess this will be your first diaper changing lesson,” Nanaba chuckled.

“Oh, no... Nanaba surely you won’t…” Petra giggled and shook her head, trying to get Nanaba to hold Nova. The blonde gestured for Petra to set the baby down on the diaper changing table and brought out the necessary objects for the chore.

The blonde woman encouraged Petra and the orange-haired woman couldn’t find it in her to say no. Especially not when those striking eyes gazed into her own and her touch lit a trail of fire across her skin. Petra was confused - didn’t she have feelings for Hanji? She decided not to dwell on it as she cautiously unbuttoned Nova’s onesie and carefully removed her diaper. Nanaba had the honour of disposing it, but Petra was stuck with the baby wipes.

The blonde mirthfully watched Petra clean up Nova, and then outright laughed when Petra seemed confused about which way to put the diaper. Nanaba came up from behind her and showed her how to do it. When Nova was finally cleaned up and dressed, her daddy picked her up and cradled her against her chest. Petra hurriedly rushed to the bathroom to wash her hands and calm her blazing cheeks.

In the kitchen, Hanji busily scribbled away on a wide sheet of paper. She was thinking of an escape route for their group, and trying to identify all the variables that could interfere with a successful escape. So far, only Nova and Marco seemed to be their biggest threats. Yesterday’s encounter with the boy was still fresh on her mind. Here was an opportunity to observe an infected specimen up close and personal without the risk of getting killed.

Marco was not experiencing any post-infection symptoms, yet his wound had completely healed. He appeared to be sane, if not traumatized by the experience, and nothing in his body language suggested he was turning anytime soon. In fact, Marco seemed to be a lot better than he ever was. What was going on in that head of his, and what was the next step for this infection?

She needed to find out more, and that was exactly what she set out to do.

Marco entered the kitchen and wiped his brow. It was scorching hot today, especially after the downpour from the days before. With the clouds gone, the sun was free to blaze everything in its sight. Hanji watched him carefully and quickly thought up a simple experiment using her collected data from before.

“Marco,” she called out, waiting for the boy to turn to her before continuing, “I need your help with the escape route I’m planning. Mind giving an overworked brainiac a hand?” She grinned when he chuckled and pulled out the seat next to her. Marco sat down and smiled while leaning over the table with crossed arms.

“How can I help?”

“Phase one complete, phase two underway,” Hanji muttered.

“What was that?”

“Oh, sorry! I said: I’m parched, and I’m sure you are as well. I brewed some coffee a while ago… hold on.” Hanji stood and her chair scraped against the floor as she walked over to the kitchen counter. She poured some coffee into a cup and a glass of ice cold water in another cup. Setting both down on the table, she returned to her seat and steepled her fingers under her chin, observing Marco’s face.

“Have a drink Marco,” she offered kindly. Marco murmured a word of gratitude and reached his hand out for the glass of cold water. Suddenly, his hand twitched and he grabbed the steaming cup of coffee instead. Hanji’s eyes widened and she jotted down her observations on a separate sheet of paper. She discreetly watched as Marco gulped down the coffee and sighed in relief, smiling slightly.

“Thank you, Hanji. I never even knew I was that thirsty until I started drinking.”

“It’s nothing, Marco… phase two complete, phase three underway.”

“Hmm?”

“So I’d like you to review this plan for me and point out any flaws you see. Sometimes I’m so into my work I can’t tell if it’s good or not half the time, or realistic! Haha!”

“I know what you mean,” Marco laughed, “sometimes I had Jean review my work at school before I- um… never mind.”

Their moods sobered but Hanji kept a vigilante watch on his body language. Slowly, she leaned her chin against her right palm and held her pencil in her left hand. Without removing her eyes from Marco’s face, Hanji tapped a simple pattern against the surface of the table.

A heartbeat pattern.

At first, Marco didn’t react - he simply kept to reading over Hanji’s scrawls and schematics. However, as Hanji prolonged the pattern while keeping track of time, she noticed that Marco’s eyes began to flick away from the paper in his hands to find out the source of the noise. His hands twitched every so often, and she could see a thin stream of drool seeping from the corner of his lips. The longer Hanji continued the pattern, the more nervous and jittery he became, until finally Hanji slammed her right hand on the table to gain his attention.

Free from his trance, Marco wiped his mouth and shook his head. “What is it, Hanji?”

“I think you should go rest for a bit,” Hanji said suddenly, standing up and gripping Marco’s arm.

“Huh?”

“You’ve worked hard with Nanaba to set up the sleeping arrangements - you deserve an early night.”

Marco watched her warily, but couldn’t bring himself to disagree. Instead, he slipped free from Hanji’s grip and nodded in agreement, stumbling to his bed and collapsing on it. Once Hanji heard his snores, she decided to walk around the flat to stretch her legs.

She noted down her observations as she walked around, and came up with hypotheses to explain his behaviour. Maybe his conscious was turning into a zombie, but his body wasn’t? How long would it be before he began to experience more serious and dangerous symptoms? Were his reactions to Hanji’s tests proof he was turning? Hanji came up with more questions than answers, and decided to think on it another time.

Hanji entered Nova’s room out of curiosity and watched with a frown as Nanaba and Petra talked and played with Nova. They looked so comfortable with each other, and almost as though they were a real couple.

The bespectacled woman scratched her head as a foreign feeling entered her heart, which grew stronger when Nanaba leaned over to whisper in Petra’s ear since Nova had fallen asleep in her arms. She shook her head and dismissed it entirely, feeling it illogical and impractical to feel something like this at a time where they had to work together.

Without talking to either of them, she returned to the kitchen and resumed her planning, unable to rid herself of the horrible feeling lodged in her gut.

x

Knock, knock.

“Mmm?” Krista moaned and shifted closer to Ymir, nuzzling against her collarbone. Ymir in turn tightened her grip around Krista’s waist and tucked her under her chin. Both smiled at the same time.

Knock, knock.

“Sonuva…” Ymir grumbled in her sleep and sighed, unconsciously slipping a hand inside of Krista’s shirt and rubbing her smooth back. Krista shuddered and moaned, muttering Ymir’s name and gripping her shirt tighter between her fingers.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock-

“WHAT?!” Ymir shouted, sitting up and cradling Krista in her arms. She abruptly whirled around and glared at the cold blue eyes staring in through the window. Annie crossed her arms and glared right back. Krista mumbled in her sleep and let out a hot breath against Ymir’s pulse, causing the brunette to shiver and press a kiss against her head.

Annie knocked against the window again to regain Ymir’s attention, and when she did, she pointed at her wrist as if to indicate time. She then made motions to indicate that they needed to get a move on, to which Ymir sighed and nodded. Annie left, presumably back to Mikasa, and Ymir decided to wake Krista up so they could get to Sina quickly.

“Krista? Krista, wake up,” Ymir grumbled, shaking the blonde. The shorter girl mumbled something in her sleep and pressed her lips to Ymir’s pulse. She opened her eyes slowly when she felt the sudden spike in pulse beneath Ymir’s tanned skin. Once she realized her predicament, Krista blushed heavily and backed away. She couldn’t move any further, however - Ymir had her caged in her arms.

“Is there really a point in moving away?” Ymir muttered. Krista blinked up at her and Ymir shook her head. “Let’s go, we’re burning daylight.”

After organizing their things and refuelling their car, Ymir and Krista sat in front as usual and Jean sat in the back. They had agreed with Mikasa and Annie to travel together, except the couple would take their truck in case of any emergency stops. This way, all five of them could hide out in the back and lock themselves in.

Ymir drummed her fingers on the wheel as she waited for Mikasa or Annie to give her a signal. The couple was currently getting into their truck, but they seemed to be arguing about something. Ymir glared at their reflections in her side mirror and sighed when she noticed the sun was lower than before. It was nearly sunset.

The brunette clenched the wheel tightly when she heard their arguments revolving around whose turn it was to drive. Krista watched amusingly and put a hand to her mouth to quell her giggles. Ymir grit her teeth and leaned out of her window.

“HEY! LET’S GO ALREADY GODDAMN IT!”

Both Mikasa and Annie jumped and turned to Ymir, then Mikasa exhaled slowly through her nose and pinched its bridge. With a sigh, she forfeited her side of the argument and climbed into the passenger’s side. Annie smirked victoriously and plopped down on the driver’s seat. However, her victory was short lived when Mikasa patted her head and adjusted her seat so that the blonde could reach the pedals.

Ymir rolled her eyes and started her car, waiting for Mikasa to put her thumbs up. When she did, the brunette started out and went down the highway, going around the bend and continuing down the detour to Sina.

Jean relaxed and put his feet up on the backseat, bored out of his mind. He considered sleeping, but he figured he needed to be alert in case anything sudden happened. He wondered if he would get to drive, since Ymir had been doing all the driving so far, except for the one time Krista had taken the wheel, back when Connie…

Jean sighed and turned on his side, closing his eyes as he tried to steer his train of thought into happier subjects. There wasn’t much he could do though, what with the apocalypse happening and all the negativity surrounding it. This cloud had no silver lining in his mind - it was dark, stormy and horrible.

Ymir hit a bump and Jean soared and landed on his back harshly. He groaned in pain and glared at the back of Ymir’s head. “Hey, watch it!”

“Shut up,” Ymir bit back, hunched over the wheel and frowning in concentration. Krista sighed and turned around in her seat, her expression apologetic.

“Sorry Jean,” Krista mumbled, “the road’s getting really bad. This road really hasn’t been fixed for decades… in fact - Ymir, what’s that?”

In front of the car was a closed off section of the road. The road was completely unusable, and there were giant machines meant to dig up and replace the cracked concrete. However, the work was clearly unfinished, and off to the side were several trailers obviously meant for the workers. Despite the seemingly busy task, the area was desolate.

“Fuck, it’s a construction zone. We can’t go any farther with all this… goddamn, we have to take a detour to get back on the detour!” Ymir slammed the brakes and punched the horn on the wheel. Behind her, Annie sounded the horn as well in confusion, and looked at Mikasa with an arched eyebrow. Mikasa in turn rubbed the side of her face in exasperation and crossed her arms.

Krista pointed to the left. “Ymir, we need to take that route over there.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Then let’s go!”

Ymir pressed her lips together. “I’m just trying to think. I know for a fact this temporary route goes through a forest. And this is a construction zone. You see that trailer over there? The workers are supposed to live here while they finish their work. But no one’s here. The door’s opened and if you look closely-”

“Blood!” Krista gasped.

Ymir nodded gravely. “Yeah, blood. So… going into this forest wouldn’t be the smartest idea.”

“If anything happens you’ve got your gun, not to mention Annie and Mikasa are with us too,” Jean reminded.

Ymir glared at Jean through the rear-view mirror. “Shut up, horseface.”

Jean rolled his eyes and crossed his arms behind his head. Krista looked between the two and frowned. She certainly didn’t like how their chemistry was not at all positive, but there was nothing she could do without making either seem like the bad guy.

“Through the forest it is…” Ymir muttered in annoyance. She waved from outside her window to the couple behind her and began the drive to the right.

The farther they went down the hills, the more trees appeared until finally a full-fledged forest sprouted on either side of the road. It was a pretty rocky terrain, and the car bounced around as Ymir tried to keep the vehicle on the path. Krista was thankful for the seat belts, while Jean moaned about his sore back.

Behind them, the truck had a harder time moving without juggling its passengers, but it seemed to be moving much smoother thanks to the all-purpose wheels installed. Mikasa raptly observed their surroundings and aimed her gun out to the trees. Anything that could move would be put down by her before it could even utter a syllable.

The trees provided shade against the lowered sun, however they also contributed to the creepiness factor of the atmosphere. Amidst the rumbling of the engine, low groans not belonging to Jean, or anything remotely natural, sounded as though from a distance.

After about half an hour of traveling down the road, Ymir grew impatient. “When the hell does this thing end?!” she exclaimed in exasperation, speeding up unconsciously. Krista placed a hand on her shoulder and kneaded the muscles there, calming the brunette down immediately.

“Just keep going, we’ll make it!”

In the back, Jean had fallen asleep, unable to fight the boredom. Soon, the sun had completely set and night once again reigned. The moon provided sight alongside the cars’ headlights, but other than that, the group was stuck in the dark with no foreseeable exit.

In the distance, further down the road, a large group of construction workers groaning and tearing apart survivors greeted the group with shrieks. Their deathly grey skin, illuminated by the moon, only made them appear more ghastly than they already were.

Ymir saw the reflection off of the construction workers’ uniforms before anyone else and ordered Krista to ready their guns. She narrowed her eyes and snarled. They had to make it out, they had no choice. She gave out a distress signal to the couple behind her and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

This was it.

x

The battery-powered clock in the kitchen ticked midnight, and the moon was high in the sky. Darkness cloaked the city of ruins for another night and hid the secrets of all, good and bad. While survivors slumbered and the dead dragged their feet, Marco rose from yet another scorching, bloody nightmare and sat up with sweat weighing down his shirt. Running a hand through his hair, he noticed a peculiar craving that made him swallow audibly and clench his throat tightly.

Meat. Lots of it.

Marco exhaled and inhaled slowly, pushing the sheets away and standing beside his bed. He stumbled out of the bedroom, past a lump resembling Hanji, and into the kitchen, where he quickly downed a glass of water. He grimaced at the taste.

A sliver of light glinted across the counter for a split second, to which Marco gasped and jumped back. He turned his head from side to side, but could not detect the source. He slapped his cheeks lightly and leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. He closed his eyes for a brief second, and his feet carried him to his next destination.

Hanji followed the teen discreetly, vigorously taking notes and being careful to avoid the moonlight. She tiptoed gently across the kitchen floor and observed Marco’s strange behaviour. When the teen reached Nova’s bedroom, Hanji raised an eyebrow but quickly understood what was going on. She left her utensils on the dining table and made sure to be close to Marco as he turned the knob. The door opened with a silent creak, and the teen quietly approached the baby pen.

His eyes rolled back, Marco stepped over a sleeping Nanaba and stood next to the pen. His mouth salivated immediately as he leaned over and reached his arms out toward the baby to pick her up. The clock ticked ominously from the kitchen, creating a rhythmic pattern in Marco’s mind that regulated his actions. His mind mutated the pattern into a heartbeat, and that was all Marco could hear as he gripped the sides of the girl.

Marco nodded and lifted the baby, bringing it closer and closer to his mouth. All he could see was red, all he could feel was heat and all he could feel was the rapid heartbeat of the infant, driving his mind absolutely insane.

Marco brought the baby to his lips and bit into her-

“Marco!”

Marco opened his eyes and looked down, quickly retracting his hands as they very nearly touched Nova. The freckled boy put a hand to his head, hyperventilating and sweating heavily. Just what was that? What was going on?

Hanji turned the boy around to glare into his eyes, not saying a word. Marco couldn’t see her - he had already fallen asleep. The woman sighed and dragged Marco to bed, being mindful of the slumbering Nanaba, and tucked the teen in. Thinking quickly, Hanji put together a sleep-inducing solution and forcibly made the boy swallow it. She grabbed her notebook and pen and concluded her observations, making predictions and theories to attempt to explain this strange phenomenon.

If they ever wanted a shot at getting to Sina in one piece, they either needed to cure Marco, or get rid of him entirely. Hanji knew not what the best course of action was, but she knew which was more logical and realistic.

Unfortunately, Marco was simply a danger to them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	15. Chapter 15

“Krista, take the wheel!”

“Wh-what?” Krista swallowed thickly and widened her eyes.

Ymir turned to her with a frown. “There are too many up ahead. Take the damn wheel. Jean,” Ymir turned and let go of the wheel, confident that Krista would take it. The car swerved for a second and then steadied after Krista rushed forward and grabbed the steering wheel.

“Ymir!” Krista scolded hotly. Her pulse was racing far too fast but she didn’t have all that much time to argue.

“What?” Jean asked. His face looked grim and for once he kept his tone emotionless, not snarky or annoyed like usual. Ymir wasn’t antagonizing him this time, and even if she was this wasn’t the time or place to respond in kind.

“Take this gun, open the window and sit on the door. I’m doing the same this side. Shoot as many of those fuckers as you can.”

Ymir tossed a gun to him and then rolled her window down. When the brunette leaned out of the window and situated herself, Krista scooted over to the driver’s side to take over. Her hands were shaking like crazy and for a second she couldn’t remember which pedals to step on, but then all the previous lessons rushed back to her and she shifted the gears.

Jean’s eyes widened in panic but he quickly recovered and scrambled to opened the window to the right of the car and climb out too. Once he had copied Ymir’s position he aimed the gun and closed one eye.

“Don’t try to be a smartass and get headshots. This isn’t a game. Just shoot at them and kill as many as possible.” Ymir yelled over to him. The wind whipping over her face muffled her words but the boy managed to hear her and yelled back in agreement.

This was definitely not going to be fun. Jean couldn’t see worth a damn and all he could make out up ahead were shadowy figures moving past a car’s headlights. There was even a fire on the side of the road, probably made by the survivors but it wasn’t enough to give much light on the situation. But he obeyed Ymir’s order and aimed in the general direction of the walkers.

A shot rang out, and then another and another and multiple bullets soared past both Ymir and Jean’s head in a continuous cacophony. Ymir yelled a curse and looked to the truck behind them. Mikasa was leaning out of the window too with a sniper rifle in her hands. Somehow she was succeeding in aiming and shooting.

“Goddamnit, don’t shoot or you might hit us!” Ymir yelled as loudly as she could. Mikasa shifted the gun but provided no other response. She started shooting again and Ymir felt the wind zip past her as the bullets did.

As the situation was she really couldn’t just sit there and cuss, so Ymir swallowed her anger and turned her gun forward. She and Jean began to shoot at the same time, taking zombies out at random. They could barely see and aiming was a bitch. There really was no choice since the group of the dead up ahead were too many, and if they were caught here all of them would die.

Surprisingly, Krista skilfully kept the car on the road and even accelerated. She flinched each time the loud bangs from the guns invaded her ears but focused all of her energy on driving them out of there.

“It’s working!” Jean yelled over the roaring wind.

Ymir offered him a thumbs up and then desperately clawed at the roof of the car for something to hold on to as they hit a large rock and the car did a mini jump. “Fuck me!” she yelled angrily but aimed and started shooting again.

Eventually they neared the horde and soared right through them. Most of the things had been shot, probably by Mikasa. Ymir couldn’t fathom how the Asian girl managed to aim and shoot them so perfectly in the low light and the rocky terrain. She shrugged the bafflement off, since it really didn’t matter, and lightly kicked Krista to signal that she was climbing back in.

“We did it, I’m getting back in.”

Krista nodded to herself and shifted back into the passenger seat, but still kept her hands on the wheel. Ymir jumped back in and resumed the task of driving. Her gun was hastily dropped into Krista’s lap, and then the brunette released a long sigh of relief and ran a hand over her sweaty forehead.

“Fucking hell, that was more stressful than it should have been.”

“Hell yeah!” Jean agreed loudly. His chest heaved and his heart thumped. Both of them were still feeling the adrenalin, but it was slowly fading as the forest thinned and then they noticed the turnoff back onto the road. “But that Asian chick, how the hell did she shoot that well?”

Ymir nodded vigorously. “The bitch could have shot us!” She grinned despite her anger. “But that was fucking awesome.”

“Admit it,” Jean added with a grin. “We both kicked some serious zombie ass.”

Ymir laughed. “Fucking yeah we did.” She grew quiet and then she glanced over her shoulder. “You don’t shoot too bad.”

Jean looked at her with surprise, and so did Krista.

Was Ymir complimenting him?

“Uh, thanks. You too…” Jean didn’t know what else to say.

From her seat Krista looked between the two and then she offered them both a smile and put her hand on Ymir’s shoulder. “You both were very brave. I’m so glad that neither of you were hurt.”

Ymir frowned at the inclusion of Jean, but smirked after deciding to let it go. “What, did you think I’d let us die out there?”

Krista was about to respond but then Jean sat forward and pointed. “Ymir.”

Ymir followed his gaze and cursed under her breath.

They would need to turn right onto the road that went directly to Sina, but the road was blocked by a goddamn heap of burning cars. One hell of an accident must have taken place and now they had to drive on further to take a different road.

“I wonder what happened,” Krista whispered softly.

Behind them a horn bellowed and when Ymir glanced at the truck she caught Annie signalling for her to stop, so she did. The truck drove up next to them and then Annie rolled her window down. Krista rolled hers down too and Ymir leaned over her to see what the other blonde wanted.

“There’s another turn off down the road. We should take that one, but it will cost us another hour and it’s still dark. On the way we’ll pass by Shiganshina. We should stop there.”

Ymir stared into Annie’s cold blue eyes and ran the possibilities in her mind. She supposed that it was a good idea, but the thought of having to pass through yet another town wasn’t all that appealing. There really wasn’t any other option, since there was a fence blocking the way off of the roads and they couldn’t simply drive around the accident.

“Okay,” Ymir nodded and returned to her seat.

Annie hooted again and then drove on ahead. Ymir sighed and rubbed a hand over her face, but she started the car again and followed.

“I went to Shiganshina once,” Krista offered after the tense silence went on for way too long.

“You did?” Ymir asked distractedly. It was now pitch black and they could only see what the light shone on in front of them and the back lights from the truck up ahead.

“Yeah, my uncle lived there so we went one weekend to visit him. Have you ever been there?”

“Nope.”

“That’s a shame. Shiganshina is famous for their beautiful cherry blossom trees. Oh Ymir, you should see them! It’s such a mystical sight when the petals fall and coat the ground. It’s almost romantic.”

Ymir squinted. “’S probably covered in blood now, so no thanks.”

Krista pouted. “Don’t ruin the mood!” Before she could act on her anger Jean tapped her shoulder and grinned.

“I’ve seen them. They really are beautiful.”

Krista beamed and turned around in her seat to face him. “I know right! I would always stand under one of the trees and think that if someone proposed to me there I wouldn’t be able to say no.”

Jean’s smile slowly faded away. “You know… I finally grew the confidence to ask Marco out there. We were visiting his mother and he took me to see the trees. It was really romantic and it makes you feel like fantasies could come true, so I ended up blurting out my feelings and yelling for him to go out with me.” He smiled softly, sadly. “And he said yes.”

Krista’s heart went out to him and she reached out to give him a pat on the head. “I’m sure Marco is alright, Jean. You just have to have some faith.” Ymir snorted ungracefully and Krista turned to her. “Is there something you’d like to add?”

“Sure,” Ymir replied. “Don’t be a dumbass and believe that he’s alive. Our lives now are definitely going to be short lived and if he was left on his own then he is probably dead.” 

Krista took a breath to yell at Ymir for being a jerk, but Jean spoke first.

“Ymir is right.” The light had left his eyes and he glanced down at his clenched fists. “Marco is a kind, soft boy. He couldn’t raise a fist to anything, not even to the assholes that used to bully us for being gay. He would even apologise to them for their bruised fists after punching us.” He glanced up and met Ymir’s stony gaze. “So you’re right, Ymir. Marco is probably already dead. I’d rather believe that than believe that he isn’t.”

Ymir flicked her eyes back to the dark road and nodded. “In a life so cruel we can’t even dream to hope for the best.”

“Rather be broken than get broken,” Jean agreed.

Krista looked between the two and sighed solemnly. “You know, you two can be so similar sometimes. Now the mood has gone down.”

Ymir reached out and patted Krista’s head. “Aw, sorry we made the baby cry. Oh, I have an idea!” She grinned evilly, which made Krista gulp. “How ‘bout you find one of my porno mags and read it to me again?”

Krista’s entire face went completely red even to the tips of her ears, and then she squeaked and punched Ymir’s shoulder with as much force as possible. Ymir was laughing too hard to even yell about the pain.

From the back Jean’s mood lightened and he smiled. But then he sat back and looked out at the night, thinking about his boyfriend and hoping that he had somehow made it despite his determination not to expect to ever see him again. It was difficult to feel something his heart didn’t want to feel. Because right not it was feeling sad and crushed and absolutely desolate. It was only the small hope of seeing Marco’s beautiful smile again that kept Jean from breaking entirely.

They continued to ride through the night and only made it to the next town when the black turned to grey. It had taken longer than expected to get there, but they managed it without any more situations.

Mikasa and Annie drove ahead first and Ymir followed them all the way to another gas station. As they drove all of them noticed with a sense of dread that the streets were empty. But this wasn’t like how it was in Trost. There really wasn’t a single person, living or dead.

They rode for a good few minutes before stopping and hadn’t encountered a single zombie. What the hell was up with them and disappearing like this?

Once both vehicles had parked they all climbed out. They kept a weapon in hand and grouped up between the vehicles.

“Krista, how are you feeling?” Annie asked the moment she was close enough. She wanted to know how their friend was doing before they spoke about business.

Krista smiled. “I’m feeling fine. Ymir was teasing me the whole way here though.”

Annie glanced up to glare coldly at Ymir but the brunette folded her arms across her chest and glared right back.

“Annie, we don’t have time for this.” Mikasa pointed out. “I’ll get down to the point. There are no zombies here, and I don’t like it.”

“It’s almost like they were attracted somewhere else,” Jean added. “And I agree that it isn’t a good thing. This place feels creepy.”

“The best option is to finish here and drive through to Sina the moment it gets lighter, which should be in the next few hours.” Annie said.

“We should stay here for now and wait,” Mikasa supplied.

The couple nodded and headed to the back of their truck. Mikasa opened the boot and signalled for everyone to get in. “Come on, it’s safer in here, especially if _they_ suddenly appear.”

Jean climbed in with no argument but Ymir refused to budge. “I need to piss,” she said.

By the brunette’s side Krista blushed slightly and looked down at her feet. “Ymir, can we go to the bathroom together? I… need to go too.”

Ymir grinned at the blonde and took her hand. “Sure, squirt.” She met Mikasa’s eyes. “We’ll be back. Try not to make out while we’re gone.” As she said that Ymir glanced over to Annie and then back to Mikasa.

The couple shared a look and visibly blushed, though very lightly. Jean just looked confused.

“Be safe and if anything happens to her, you’re dead.” Annie warned and made sure Ymir knew the seriousness in her words.

“Yeah, whatever.” Ymir waved her threat off and pulled Krista with her towards the side of the store where the bathroom was. She really hadn’t been lying in needing to go, and Krista was already starting to fidget.

It didn’t take long for Ymir to finish with her business and when she did she went outside and stood guard by the door while she waited. It was still quite dark, but she had one of their flashlights that were taken from the previous station.

Ymir kicked at the ground underneath her shoe and stuffed her left hand into her pocket. “How long does it take to pee?” she mumbled under her breath. Before she could grumble impatiently again something caught her eye, and then Ymir turned her head to the right and squinted. She saw another flash of fire and started walking to the back of the building out of curiosity.

She never expected to see what lay beyond.

None of them had noticed it, but thanks to the fire Ymir had. Right behind the gas station there was a large previously open plot of land. It was obvious to Ymir that this had been a large construction site. A foundation was already in place, quite a few levels up. Though the concrete was bare and the entire thing was mostly just a shell of what it was meant to be.

What struck Ymir most was the fact that someone had dug a mote all around the place, and inside there were moving bodies and groans that she hadn’t heard until now.

“What the fuck…”

“Ymir?” Krista appeared beside Ymir and looked towards what her companion was gaping at, and then her eyes widened and she grabbed onto Ymir’s shirt. “Y-Ymir… what is this?”

Two poles were embedded in the ground, and at the top each held a crackling fire inside of a metal bowl. They were at each end of the entrance that was a collection of wooden planks placed over the gap in the ground. There were chains connected to the sides and connected to the walls of the foundation, so Ymir knew that the wooden gate was meant to be pulled up, to keep people out.

But now it was down, so where were the people that had made this?

“Oh, lookie here. Looks like we got some new meat.”

Ymir whirled around and immediately pulled Krista behind her when she came face-to-face with a huge, muscled man pointing a shotgun in her face. He had no hair and a long scar running across his left eye.

“Now, now. You’re scaring them Talus.”

A second person stepped out from the darkness, this one being shorter than the man but standing taller in presence. He had a shock of black hair on his head, combed and gelled back, on his chin was a trimmed line of hair, he wore a long black coat and he looked extremely clean. He grinned over at Ymir and cocked his head to the side.

“ **Salmoneus.” Talus immediately bowed down. “I just found these two standing here.”**

**The second man, Salmoneus, gave Talus a pat on his beefy shoulder and then took a step towards Ymir. By now Krista was trembling really badly.**

**“My Lord, what should we do with them?”**

**“Feed ‘em to the skinners!”**

**More figures emerged, their faces pale and grins malicious.**

**“** Persephone, watch what you say!” Talus stood and approached the one named Persephone. It was a young man with long blonde hair tied at the base of his neck and greedy, evil green eyes. His limbs were lanky but he looked like he could take Talus on with the crazed glint in his eyes.

Persephone lifted his machete and pointed it at Ymir and Krista. “Shut the fuck up. We finally get some new meat! I’m bored. Let’s throw them in the pit or something.”

Talus face darkened and he swung his fist down at Persephone but he was stopped by a strong hand catching it.

“Do not raise a hand to my brother.” It was another blonde, but he was taller than Persephone and looked exactly like him except for the long hair. Instead his hair was cropped short with the portion at the top kept long and brushed forward to cover the side of his forehead. The tip of his fringe had been dyed black.

“Triston,” Talus’ eyes narrowed and the veins in his neck bulged in anger.

“Enough,” Salmoneus ordered levelly. “We will not throw them to the skinners. But,” he grinned. “We’ll be taking them with us. Jezebel?”

From beside the brothers a woman dressed in black leather, half of her face hidden in a mask, stepped away from them and approached the black-haired man that had summoned her.

“Yes, my Lord?”

Salmoneus glanced at Jezebel’s double bladed weapon and his grin broadened. “Please go to the others and fetch them too. They might be a handful. Talus, take these two. Hurry, before the sun comes and more skinners pass through here.”

Those given their orders bowed their heads in respect and then obeyed. Salmoneus smirked evilly. “Welcome to my Castle of Bones.”

Ymir had no time to stop them.

XxX

Feet scuffed against the tar and groans lifted into the air. Walking dead bodies passed by, soulless eyes peering forward at nothing in particular. They bumped into each other, not able to sense their surroundings all that well. It was only the little bit of heat seeping into their tattered clothing that allowed some of them to make out their fellow dead.

“There aren’t that many here,” Nanaba commented softly. Even though Hanji had explained to her that the zombies couldn’t hear, she still felt a need to be quiet.

“They seem to be crowded in the centre of the city. Is that where the explosions took place?” Hanji asked.

Nanaba nodded and straightened. They were in an alley, hidden behind a big metal dustbin. If the things couldn’t sense their heat then they were safe, so they hid behind anything they could find when the walkers appeared.

Both of them had taken to the streets after morning came and Hanji expressed her frustration at having too little data to compile a proper escape route. Nanaba had then come up with the idea of them taking to the streets to scout the area out. So far they had covered most of the streets surrounding Nanaba’s apartment, and now they were close to one of the tallest buildings in Rose.

“We should climb up here and take a look from the top,” Nanaba suggested.

Hanji merely nodded and kicked the door open. Nanaba cringed at the loud crash and glanced behind her. She sighed when the sound had no effect on the passing walkers.

“Hurry,” Hanji said over her shoulder. She headed up the stairs with Nanaba following. There had to be about 10 floors so it would be a long climb, and hopefully they wouldn’t encounter any undead on the way. “Say, Nanaba,” Hanji unexpectedly spoke up.

They had just made it to the third floor and Nanaba had been straining her hearing so hard that she had barely heard Hanji, since she had been waiting to hear lazy footsteps or groans.

“Mm?”

Hanji glanced behind her and frowned. She quickly shook it off and faced forward again. “What do you think of Petra?”

Nanaba’s steps faltered. The question was unexpected and odd, but Hanji’s tone was even more unexpected and it was the cause of Nanaba’s pause.

“Uh… I think she’s nice.” Why was Hanji asking, and why did she sound like she was interrogating while asking?

“Just nice?” Hanji swallowed and adjusted her glasses. They made it onto the fifth floor.

“Well, I think she’s okay.” Nanaba nervously scratched the back of her neck. She was afraid to say anything too descriptive, because Hanji was now giving her frighteningly crazy glances over her shoulder.

Hanji suddenly stopped and turned around. “Nanaba, answer me seriously. What do you think of Petra?”

Internally Hanji panicked. _What am I doing? Sure, wanting to know her motives is a logical thing, but why do I feel a burning need to know? Why do I feel like a wrong answer from her will make me upset? Come on Hanji, cut it out! This isn’t the time for emotional crap. We need to figure a plan out and get out of here. But… but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to chat first._

Nanaba’s brows creased in confusion. “Why are you asking? I feel like if I say something too revealing you’ll punch me.”

Hanji immediately relaxed her intense scowl and adjusted her glasses again. “Heh, sorry. Sometimes my face does things on its own. I won’t bite you, I just need to know.”

Nanaba silently studied Hanji’s face until she sighed and decided to answer as honestly as she could. “She’s great with Nova, and Nova adores her. She’s beautiful and kind and I can’t help but feel warm around her. I think that if I had met her at an earlier time, before this apocalypse, I would have fallen madly in love with her.” The blonde’s cheeks burned intensely as she forced the words out, and then she crossed her arms over her chest and looked to the side with a pout. “I can’t believe you made me admit that.”

Hanji’s eyes widened. So Nanaba felt that way about her… Did Petra feel the same? Hanji couldn’t help but dread the answer. But she took a deep breath through her nose and released it the same way. “Okay, you pass.” She turned and started walking again.

Nanaba immediately followed and furrowed her brows again. “Pass? Pass what?”

Hanji bit her lip. Not even she knew. Why had she even said that? “I… uh… wasn’t sure of your motives.” She shot a quick glance at the tall woman. “Petra is _very_ important to me, and I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

Nanaba’s eyes widened this time, but Hanji didn’t see it because she had already turned back around. The blonde realized then why Hanji had wanted to know and why she seemed so ferocious about it. Was Hanji in love with Petra?

“Hanji,” Nanaba gently grabbed the brunette’s arm to stop her. They had just made it to the seventh floor. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. If I had I wouldn’t have gotten so close to her.” Guilt and sadness weighed down on Nanaba’s heart. She knew that it was a scary thing to have people you care for in a world like this. Having Nova was terrifying enough, because losing her would utterly destroy Nanaba’s heart and soul. But the thought of finding someone to share the burden with, to survive with and to love, it was a relieving and naïve thought. It made Nanaba feel less lonely. But now…

“What are you talking about?” Hanji exclaimed. “If you’re implying what I think you are, then you’re wrong. Stuff like love doesn’t exist anymore. Despite what feelings I could have, there is only place for logic in my life.” The bespectacled woman gently pulled her arm free and then she met Nanaba’s guilty gaze. “If you like her, go for it. Even if I did, I wouldn’t.” It did hurt to say. It hurt more than Hanji thought it would, but she felt strong in her words.

She did not want or need love. She would always love Petra, but not more than appropriate. Her current feelings were probably only born from the despair and desperation from the world suddenly going to hell. Everyone needed someone to cling onto, but Hanji refused to be that kind of person. She wanted to stand on her own feet. Petra being happy made her happy, even if it wasn’t with her.

“Hanji, you…” Nanaba fell silent. Hanji could see in the blonde’s eyes that she understood, so she grinned and her glasses glinted.

“No more emotional talks! Let’s get to the roof and figure out how to safely get our asses out of here.”

Nanaba smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

They continued up the stairs, and other than encountering one lone zombie on the ninth floor that had been cut in half, there were no issues. On the roof there were no zombies either, and the view of the rest of the city was both grand and grim.

“I never knew the damage was so extensive.” Nanaba commented softly. They were looking over the congested streets and the buildings still either on fire or releasing thick, bellowing clouds of smoke.

“Never mind that, let’s come up with a plan.”

“Hanji, over there.” Nanaba pointed to the right and Hanji looked in that direction. “I didn’t think it would still be there. On the roof of the hospital, on the helipad is a helicopter.”

Hanji walked over to the edge of the building and squinted. “You’re right.” She grinned triumphantly. “This is it! We can escape using that!”

“But we need to make sure it works first,” Nanaba pointed out. “It will do us no good to go through the trouble of getting there only to find that it’s broken or something.”

Hanji nodded enthusiastically. “I’m not excited to take those stairs down, but let’s go. The sooner we can test that helicopter the sooner we can come up with a plan.”

Hanji headed over to the door with Nanaba following and together they left the building, headed for the hospital.

XxX

After heading over to the hospital and confirming that the helicopter still worked, Nanaba and Hanji made their way back to the apartment. The moment they stepped through the door Petra tackled Hanji for a tight, long hug.

“Whoa, Petra!”

“I’m so relieved.” Petra exclaimed while nuzzling Hanji’s shoulder. “I couldn’t stop worrying that you would get hurt.” She pulled back to smile brightly at her friend and then glanced over at Nanaba. She wanted to hug her too, Petra really wanted to, but she blushed instead and stepped away from Hanji. “I’m glad you’re safe too, Nanaba.”

Nanaba watched their interaction closely, remembering her conversation with Hanji earlier. She sighed internally but smiled at Petra and gave her a wink. “I’d never let anything happen to your Hanji,” she said.

“Da!” Nova was sitting on the floor in the lounge, surrounding by pillows and teddy bears. The moment she heard Nanaba’s voice she had instinctively recognized it and called out for her.

“Nova.” Nanaba smiled brightly and went over to her blonde daughter. She picked her up and laughed when the little one gurgled happily.

“Da!”

“She missed you,” Petra commented. She approached them and then gently smoothed Nova’s hair down. Nova flailed her arms and smiled at Petra.

“Ma!”

Both Nanaba and Petra laughed, though Petra blushed slightly at being called something similar to ‘mother’.

“Did she behave while I was gone?” Nanaba directed the question at Marco, since he was the one that had been watching Nova while Petra went to the door. The blonde narrowed her eyes lightly at his startled look and patiently waited for him to answer.

“Oh… u-um she was very well behaved.” Marco smiled. “And adorable.”

Some of Nanaba’s seriousness drained from her face and she smiled. “She’s always cute.” She peppered kisses over Nova’s face, making the tiny blonde squeal and giggle at the sensation. “Did she have a nap? Did you feed her? Does she need a change?” While Nanaba fussed over her daughter Marco started to sweat and ran a hand over his damp forehead. He stood and took a seat on the couch.

Petra reassured Nanaba that Nova had been tended to and laughed when the blonde asked a list of other questions regarding her daughter’s health and wellbeing. She was so concerned, and Petra found that way too attractive. Her pulse spiked when Nanaba pulled her in for a one armed hug to thank her for taking care of her daughter, and Nanaba noticed.

Hanji watched them and felt surprised when the jealously she felt was minor. Maybe making that decision helped, because seeing Petra blush because of the blonde didn’t bother her so much anymore. Besides that, Hanji also noticed Marco’s discomfort. He kept wiping his sweat away and his hands would twitch every so often.

She had to do something about him, and soon.

“So what did you find outside?” Petra pulled Nanaba over to the couch and sat beside her. Nova squirmed and reached for her, much to Nanaba’s surprise and delight, and the orange-blonde felt overjoyed that the child actually wanted to be held by her. While she took Nova from Nanaba, Hanji took a seat beside Marco.

“At the local hospital we found a working helicopter,” Hanji began.

“So we decided on a plan,” Nanaba continued. “We will split into two groups. Group one will be the distraction and clearance team. Hanji and Marco will be in it. While the second group, you,” she looked to Petra and smiled, sending the blonde’s heart into a race, “Nova and I will be the escape team. Basically, Hanji and Marco will clear the road while we focus on safely getting to the hospital.”

Petra couldn’t look away from Nanaba’s face as she spoke, and when those gentle blue eyes turned to her again she felt her breath catch. What were these feelings and why were they getting stronger by the minute?

“I wanted to go with Hanji, because I have more experience in combat.” Nanaba frowned. “But Hanji insisted that Marco go in my place.”

Hanji nodded seriously and playfully elbowed Marco. “The kid needs experience. Besides, I think giving them full responsibility over your child is too much.” That wasn’t it, that wasn’t the truth at all. Hanji just didn’t want to leave Marco alone with them, especially not alone with Nova.

“Great, so when do we leave?” Petra was kissing Nova’s tiny hand and making the baby giggle.

“This afternoon,” Nanaba replied. She shared a look with Hanji, and then she leaned over and gently kissed her daughter’s warm cheek.

XxX

Hours later they were all collected in the building’s garage. Marco and Hanji were busy packing the car with multiple supplies while Nanaba spent time with Nova. Petra was with them but she quietly watched, not wanting to butt in. She could tell that Nanaba was desperate to shower as much love onto Nova as she could before they left. The blonde looked anxious, especially each time she glanced at Nova’s face.

The plan was for group one to leave first on motorbikes and flamethrowers while group two waited. Once the road was clear Nanaba would follow Hanji and Marco to the hospital. Marco and Hanji would drive in opposite directions going away from where Nanaba and Petra were, attracting any zombies with their flames. When they doubled back they would throw grenades behind them and then race to lead the way in front of the car. Hopefully the plan would go successfully.

“Okay, we’re ready!” Hanji exclaimed with a wide grin. “Time to get this party started.”

Nanaba cringed and held Nova more securely to her chest. She pressed her forehead to Nova’s and gently brushed their noses. She sighed, and then she stood up and walked over to the car.

“We’ll wait for your signal before leaving. How long do you think it will take?” Nanaba asked.

“We’ll only be circling the next few blocks, so only a few minutes. Don’t worry,” Hanji gave Nanaba’s shoulder a comforting pat. “We’ll do this right. All you need to do is drive. We’ll take over the rest.”

Nanaba nodded and climbed into the driver’s side. When Petra climbed into the seat beside her she handed Nova over to the smaller woman and started the car.

Hanji and Marco went over to the bikes they had prepared and retrieved their weapons. Marco was shaking, but not just from the fear. He couldn’t stop feeling their heat and hearing their heartbeats and it was taking all of his will power not to suddenly lunge out and sink his teeth into Hanji’s flesh. Sweat poured down his face as a result, but he was determined to focus on the current situation and make sure he helped get them all safely to the hospital. Unfortunately for him, Hanji noticed his plight. Each time he glanced at her and started to drool, Hanji knew.

She just hoped she hadn’t made the wrong decision in making him clear the streets with her. Well, if he ended up crashing then at least that would remove her burden of having to get rid of him. But taking this part of the plan on by herself would be a problem.

“Ready?” Hanji asked.

Marco wasn’t. How could anyone be? But he nodded and copied Hanji with putting the helmet on. They both revved their bikes to life and then Nanaba pressed the button on the remote to lift the garage door, and it did.

There were a few of the walkers outside, but the moment Hanji and Marco sped out with their weapons spewing hot flames, the things failed to see the car inside the garage and instead followed the other two. Hanji drove right while Marco went left, and they both made sure to arouse the attention of all zombies around them. Once they met up in the middle Hanji made a drastic turn and then threw a grenade behind her. They sped off and an explosion rocked behind them, drawing the horde that had gathered. Instead of following Marco and Hanji the zombies scuffled over to the blaze. So far the plan was working, and when the two of them repeated the process further on down the road and it was just as much of a success, Hanji shot a red flare into the sky and then patiently waited for Nanaba to catch up.

She did quickly and then the three vehicles sped through the cleared streets towards the hospital. Luckily the explosions drew most of the zombies away from the hospital and the streets they were driving, just as planned, so they made it there in no time.

Once there Nanaba skidded to a halt outside of the hospital entrance and she took Nova from Petra. “Grab supplies,” Nanaba ordered. Originally Petra was supposed to carry the baby, but Nanaba felt a desperate need to be close to her while they risked their lives to the top of the roof. Not all of the zombies had been successfully distracted.

Hanji and Marco skidded to a halt too and simply allowed the motorcycles to drop to the floor. They both ran over to the car to sling bags over their shoulders and then followed Nanaba into the building. The blonde gently pressed Nova’s face to her chest and kept a hand over her eyes. Even if she was too young to understand what was happening, Nanaba didn’t want her to see what was happening.

They made it up to the roof and Nanaba was inside of the helicopter in seconds. She finally gave Nova over to Petra as she started the machine up and waited for the others to get in. A horde had followed behind them and Marco was still struggling to keep the door closed.

“Nanaba, are we ready to go?” Petra yelled over to her. The routers were soaring nosily through the sky and wind whipped around them. Nova started to cry in fright, not understanding or liking the situation. Nanaba glanced at her daughter in worry but knew that she had to focus on flying them out of there and not comforting her little one. At least Petra was there, and she did manage to keep Nova from wailing.

Hanji finally threw the bags she and Marco had carried into the helicopter and pulled herself in too. “Marco!” She reached out and Marco dashed for the helicopter. Wind made him shield his face with his hand and behind him the horde that had followed broke the door down and dashed after him.

The helicopter started to ascend and Marco jumped, his hand reached out for Hanji’s. He managed to jump high enough and catch Hanji’s hand, but the bespectacled woman’s face looked grim.

“Hanji, I made it!” Marco smiled brightly, but then he suddenly coughed up blood and started to shake.

Hanji struggled to hold onto him, but she couldn’t let go. Not yet.

The boy’s mouth began to foam with a thick, frothy mixture of blood and something else. The warmth left his touch and a milky colour consumed his eyes. He stopped shaking and Hanji bit her lip.

“Marco, I’m sorry…”

Marco heard her even though he could feel his mind being taken over. His heart dropped into his stomach, because he understood. With what little strength he had left, he managed to utter his last words. “Tell Jean… that I’m sorry…”

Hanji’s eyes widened when she heard his voice, and then she felt his grip slacken and she let his hand go. There was no way she could have pulled him into the helicopter, he was too far gone, but it still uncomfortably pained her as she watched the young boy scream with his last shred of sanity and land on the concrete of the roof with a splat. Despite that, he stood up again and started groaning with the rest.

Hanji could only stare. If only she had been able to study him for just a bit longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	16. Chapter 16

Ymir glanced back at the man named Talus, who had both her and Krista tied up and chained to his wrist, and snarled at him in annoyance. He had confiscated all of her weapons earlier, but thankfully Ymir had dropped her lit flashlight when none of these barbaric asshole had paid attention. Hopefully Mikasa or Annie would be smart enough to figure out the clues she left behind. They were their only hope now.

Krista remained quiet, scared beyond belief. She had always thought that, in this world, only zombies would be their enemies. But humans? Shouldn’t they band together to fight what threatens their existence? That was what she thought should happen. Some people just couldn’t think like her, some had simply lost their minds or hated humanity as a whole. She knew Ymir was one of those people, but she also knew that Ymir valued her life enough to work with others. So why weren’t these people doing the same?

“Say… I like this one.” The voice beside her made shivers go down her spine in disgust. The man named Persephone grinned down at her maliciously, and Ymir narrowed her eyes in challenge. She moved closer to Krista protectively and glared at him over Krista’s head.

Talus watched with interest, but since he strongly disliked the blonde man he decided to take the prisoners’ side. “Away with you, filth,” Talus sneered, “you have your orders.”

Persephone scoffed and went ahead, but not before he winked at Krista, who tried to glue herself to Ymir’s side in fear. The brunette wished she could break free of her restraints to englobe Krista in her embrace.

“We’ll make it through this,” Ymir reassured, “Mikasa and Annie will find us.” Ymir kept her face straight and her tone emotionless. She didn’t believe in what she was saying, but she wanted Krista to be a bit more brave, especially since they were already being threatened with dangerous outcomes.

Krista turned to Ymir in shock, not believing what was coming out of her mouth. Did Ymir just make a hopeful prediction? Did she show the slightest bit of optimism? Krista immediately knew that Ymir lied right through her teeth - she might have had hope, but that hope was so small and miniscule she would never dare to voice it to Krista, or even to herself. Unless it had some merit, unless Ymir was one hundred percent sure that they would be rescued, Ymir would never, _ever_ , say it aloud.

However, she took her words to heart despite what she believed, and lifted her head a bit higher. Ymir smirked the tiniest bit in pride and then returned to her emotionless mask.

Talus shoved the girls with his shotgun when they slowed their pace, and they finally passed by the set of blazing poles. The scary-looking man grinned and laughed cruelly at Krista’s whimper.

“Don’t look down, Krista,” Ymir warned. Krista nodded and swallowed nervously. It was extremely hard to ignore the groans, shuffles and thuds, but Krista tried her hardest to not look down.

“A-alright.”

Talus glared at the back of the brunette’s head. He noted how she seemed to observe and take in her surroundings, and how, after the speaking to the blonde, the little one seemed much more confident than before. She was the type of person they needed to get rid of.

They entered the foundation - referred to as the Castle of Bones - and descended several flights of stairs, before reaching a hall. Heading to the very end of the hall, - where there were other rooms that housed living quarters and storage units - they reached a room with makeshift holding cells. There, Persephone sat with a bored look on his face while twirling a ring of keys. He grinned at Krista and Ymir snarled at him. However, when he cocked his gun - or rather, her _confiscated_ gun - back, she tamed her anger and lowered her chin while refusing to bow her head.

“Your orders are to watch the prisoners,” Talus reminded, “nothing else. We will be back with other prisoners.”

Persephone said nothing but stood and unclipped the girls from Talus’ wrist. He pulled them roughly across the room and shoved them into the cell, slamming it shut and locking it. He plopped back onto his seat and watched them with eyes that twitched frequently the longer he stared.

Ymir immediately put Krista behind her and glared at both men in the room. Talus appeared unaffected, but Persephone regarded the challenge with interest. He tilted his head the slightest bit and drummed his fingers on the table.

Talus’ hulky figure disappeared up the stairs and Persephone allowed a sigh of relief. “Whew! That asshole is finally gone! Now I can have some fun!”

The man grinned and stood from his chair. He approached the cell and looked down at Ymir with amusement in his eyes. However, Ymir knew enough to detect the insanity hidden within as well.

“So, are you two close? You must be, if you’re so willing to protect her. And you keep glaring at me like I’m a skinner. I’m not! I’m a human just like you! Isn’t that right?”

Ymir didn’t want to respond and Krista couldn’t. Instead, the blonde clutched the back of Ymir’s shirt and Ymir strengthened her glare. Persephone backed up a bit then took the gun on the table. He banged it against the cell and slowly dragged it across the bars.

“I bet you don’t like this,” he laughed, “I bet this annoys the fuck out of you. What are you gonna do huh? Just keep glaring?” Suddenly, he stopped and slammed his body against the cell, shoving his face between the bars and staring down at the couple. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GONNA DO, HUH?” he shouted, spit flying on the dirty floor, “YOU GONNA JUST SIT THERE AND STARE?”

Ymir and Krista both refused to say a word, and Persephone shook his head and stepped back. He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed slowly. “Brother, it’s happening again. I’m breathing like you ask but it’s not doing me any good.”

“Fucking insane,” Ymir muttered dryly, “just great.”

“Ymir…” Krista murmured against the fabric of her shirt, “don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.”

Persephone paced across the room and began to shake his hands rapidly, as though anxious. “I’m not gonna screw up, I’m not gonna feed you to the skinners like I so badly want to. If I do, Salmoneus will kill me for sure. Or Brother, whoever gets to me first.”

He stopped pacing and sat down calmly, twirling the ring of keys in his hand again. Ymir observed him and flicked her eyes to the entrance when another man, Triston, entered. Immediately, Persephone stood from his seat and his entire face brightened. Triston remained emotionless and ignored the couple.

“Brother! You’ve returned! Did you find the intruders?”

“No, Salmoneus decided to send Talus in my stead,” Triston paused, then his facial expression shifted to fury, “he told me I needed to stay to watch over you! Do you understand what that means, Persephone?”

Persephone seemed to think it over for a bit, tapping his finger against his chin. Triston grew impatient and shoved his brother against the wall behind him. The cell frame shook in response. The older brother lifted the younger one by the collar of his shirt, and the younger knew better than to resist.

“What this means is that, because of _you_ , I can’t do anything outside unless you’re with me!” Triston yelled in aggravation.

Persephone looked incredibly hurt by Triston’s words, and sniffed as he looked down in shame. The older brother hesitated, and then sighed as he let his brother down. He glanced over at the cell, then back at his brother.

“They don’t look too strong,” Triston declared, “come with me, Pers.” The brothers left the room and went down the hall, going into one of the bedrooms.

Ymir breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Krista, inspecting her and making sure she was okay. Krista smiled reassuringly and leaned forward to place a warm kiss against Ymir’s cheek. She hugged the brunette’s neck and buried her face against her pulse.

“Thank you,” Krista sniffed, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Ymir closed her eyes and rested her head against Krista’s, wrapping her arms around the blonde. “Me neither.”

They stayed that way for a while, ignoring the shouts and thuds coming from the brothers. Ymir didn’t know what the hell they were doing, but she didn’t want to know. These people were fucked up enough as it was - she’d rather not know to what extent.

Suddenly, the door to their room was slammed open. Ymir put Krista behind her again, but the blood from her face drained from what she saw.

x

Mikasa, Annie and Jean sat together, exchanging stories and tales. Finally, Mikasa and Annie had remembered Marco and talked to Jean about him. Jean listened to their retelling of their group’s downfall, and somberly accepted the fact that Marco was long gone. He turned away from the girls and announced he was going to go for a walk. Mikasa tried to reason with Jean to stay, but the boy didn’t want to listen - he didn’t know it yet, and neither did the girls, but he’d lost the will to live.

He exited the truck and dragged his feet across the pavement. His hands shoved deep in his pockets, he knew not where he was going, but if a train represented his thoughts, then he was quickly losing ground and was bound to crash soon. His turmoil ate him up from the inside, and all the emotions he’d repressed until now came out to weigh his steps.

Marco. Marco was gone. His beloved was most likely dead, and he had never even got to say goodbye, or taste those lips or even hear his voice. He was even starting to forget how Marco looked like, having had no picture of him to carry.

He walked and walked and walked, until finally he reached a dead cherry blossom tree. He closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the sky, feeling numb after going through the rollercoaster of his emotions. He paid no more attention to this world, and was already dead in his mind.

It was for this reason that when Jezebel caught him stumbling around like a zombie under the tree, he offered no resistance when she grabbed him and slit a wide arc from ear to ear.

x

“They’re taking way too long,” Mikasa complained. Annie rolled her eyes and continued to sharpen their blades. They hadn’t used them in a while, finding guns to be more effective for their mid to long range needs, but tending to their blades was crucial to keeping them useful. Besides, sword fighting was far quieter than gunfights, so if they ever needed to keep quiet, their swords would serve them well.

“And Jean…” Mikasa sighed and shook her head. She knew what Jean was going through - having almost lost Annie - but not to the extent of knowing his every pain and sorrow. However, she was smart enough to know exactly what he wanted to do, and who was she to prevent a broken man’s final wish?

Jean was dead, that much they knew.

“We need to go look for Krista,” Mikasa announced. She stood and sheathed her blade, then strapped guns to her holsters. Both methods of fighting would be of extreme use to her right now.

“And Ymir,” Annie added dryly.

“And Ymir.”

Annie nodded and retrieved her weapons as well. Before she could open the truck, she was whirled around by Mikasa, who gave her an urgent and needy kiss. Annie responded in kind, and when both pulled back with flushed faces, the blonde leaned forward and pecked her lover’s lips gently.

“Whatever happens out there,” Mikasa started, “remember that… that I love you.” The black-haired girl blushed slightly but remained firm. Now was not the time to chicken out.

Annie blushed and closed her eyes. “I love you too.” She opened them again, trying to conceal her emotions but Mikasa could see right through her mask. “Let’s go.”

Both exited the truck and kept their guard up. Though the sun was close to rising, they still couldn’t really see much. Both girls kept their hands close to their sheaths and holsters, and kept their backs covered by sticking close.

They weren’t sure what to expect, since Krista, Ymir and Jean had all gone missing, but they were prepared for anything. If it boiled down to the worst possible situation, they would fight tooth and nail to stay alive, and would continue fighting until their deaths.

Suddenly, Mikasa’s ears picked up the sound of gravel being crunched and she pulled Annie around a corner with her to avoid the bone-shattering bullet of a double-barrelled shotgun. They heard the shooter curse and reload his shotgun before cocking it, ready to shoot again. Mikasa kept Annie behind her and crouched, peeking slightly around the corner.

There was a hulk of a man with a scar on his face aiming his shotgun at them.

Mikasa guessed that they wouldn’t be quick enough to dodge the bullet, but they would be quick enough to evade this man if it came down to close combat. Using their guns wouldn’t help them in this fight.

The black-haired girl turned to her lover and explained her plan. Mikasa would stealthily creep around the building and attack the man from behind. Then, while he was distracted, Annie would rush forth and incapacitate him, and if that wasn’t possible… then kill him.

Annie agreed and wished Mikasa luck as she prepared herself for her signal. Mikasa left quietly, the only trace of her existence being her red scarf.

Talus grumbled to himself about how he honestly did _not_ want to be doing this right now. The last thing he wanted to do, being as exhausted as he was, was chase after little mice when bigger prey lay out there. However, he owed his life to Salmoneus; therefore he would do anything his lord asked of him.

This was taking far too long. Maybe they got away?

“Damn it all,” he mumbled. He lifted his big feet and marched to his targets’ hiding spot. However, before he could go any further, the barrel of his shotgun was sliced in half and the gun itself was knocked out his hands. Feet ran up his back before pushing off his head, causing him to tip over and slam against the concrete. He stood, and all he saw was a red scarf before he rolled over and got to his feet.

He put his fists up, grinning evilly. As if his shotgun was his only strength.

Mikasa narrowed her eyes and rushed the man, thrusting out her katana in well-practiced forms and movements, just as she had learned all her life training as a child. She cut his bronze and leathery skin, but he seemed to be unaffected. He punched and chopped, however Mikasa was far too agile for him to land anything on her.

Mikasa whistled a sharp note and waited for Annie to aid her, but the blonde did not appear. Confused and worried, the katana-wielder chose to trust her lover and aimed to finish her fight as soon as possible.

The combatants traded blows and bruises, and were evenly matched. Mikasa was slightly impressed by how fast this man could move, being so big, but kept silent. He had asked information from her several times, but he was in no position to be asking questions. She would give him his final words, and that was it.

Mikasa kept a cool head underneath all the pressure, but Talus was growing frustrated. His attacks were heavier and faster, and his feet stumbled with his uneven pace. Mikasa continued her forms gracefully, and Talus had shifted from his equally strong boxing pace to something more barbaric and powerful.

Mikasa decided to improvise, and quickly swept Talus’ feet from under him by ducking and slicing the tendons behind his ankles. The man groaned in pain and fell down, glaring up at Mikasa with undisguisable hurt pride.

“They’ll feed you to the skinners,” he spat, before Mikasa figuratively crushed his skull under her boot and knocked him out. Mikasa killed zombies, not humans. However, what happened to these humans after she dealt to him was not of her concern, therefore she left him in a pool of his own blood to be later devoured by the very skinners he threatened Mikasa with.

Mikasa hurried back to where she left Annie, and found a streak of blood against the wall. She paled and her heart thumped against her chest dangerously. She started to panic, but quickly calmed down and breathed deeply to regain her thoughts. She followed the path she thought Annie to be and came across a fight between the blonde and a masked assassin. They traded blows equally, however once the assassin had noticed Mikasa, she judged the situation to be too risky and jumped back.

She pointed her blade at Annie and narrowed her eyes. “You shall be fed to the skinners,” she promised, before running away into the shadows.

Mikasa ran up to Annie and hugged her tightly, letting out a shaky breath against her ear. “I thought…”

“I’m fine.”

“But…”

Annie pushed off of Mikasa and frowned. “I’m fine,” she snapped, “let’s go and rescue Krista and Ymir. I know where they’re being held.”

Mikasa blinked, then she nodded stoically and masked her hurt with indifference. “Alright. Lead the way.”

Annie’s pride was deeply wounded - she had nearly lost to the masked assassin. Mikasa’s appearance had saved her life, but it only made her feel inadequate. She was strong, stronger than most, above average - yet she could not beat this foreign opponent?

Annie would not allow her pride to be disgraced again. She was as proud as a lion, and just as fierce.

"I saw the light from a flashlight before I was attacked. I'm sure it's ours."

"Let's hope so."

x

Salmoneus laughed and waved the zombie around with his gloved hands. His entire body covered in protective armour, the man played around with the unnatural being almost as if it was an item of leisure. He laughed when the thing tried to claw at his neck, tried to claw at anything it could to rip out flesh and eat it. It groaned eerily and twitched every so often from hunger.

Ymir and Krista watched in horror, though Krista decided to cover her eyes once the zombie’s decomposed orbs fell to the floor from being shaken around for so long. Ymir kept Krista’s face hidden against her neck as she glared darkly at Salmoneus.

“Now, now… no need to be so hostile. I’m not being rude, am I? I could have very well allowed the skinner to devour you, but, as you can see, I am a kind man.” Salmoneus smirked and dropped the zombie. As though it developed a small shred of intelligence, it snapped its head toward Ymir and Krista and lunged at the cell. Ymir pushed her feet against the floor and backed away quickly, Krista gripped against her body. The zombie could not reach them, but the cell bars were starting to creak.

Salmoneus lifted his boot and crushed the undead’s head underneath his boot, killing it instantly and rendering it motionless. He kicked it across the room, where it landed beside the wall and stained the floor. Its scent had already spread out across the room, and while Krista had the comfort of Ymir’s scent, the brunette had to hold back a grimace as she stared down the leader of the Castle of Bones.

The leader sneered evilly at Ymir, already planning out the perfect way to crush her resistance. In all his years working for the underground, working for every nefarious boss and lord that dealt in drugs, alcohol, sex, slavery, humans, animals, and everything prohibited, he had seen many like Ymir crumble to pieces in his hands. He knew exactly where to hit and how hard to hit. He knew how far to push her before she started to waver and sway, and he knew how to do it. To take away one’s spirit, one must attack their heart.

“Persephone! Triston!” Salmoneus shouted. The brothers appeared at the door, much more content than they were before. “Take these prisoners up and outside. It’s time we show them why this is called the Castle of Bones.” Salmoneus walked down the hall in a flourish, and ascended the stairs with authority weighing every step.

Persephone grimaced as he noticed the zombie but bounced to the cell once Triston unlocked it. He immediately snatched Krista away from Ymir, and before the brunette could react, Triston had her arms wound behind her back and had already led her down the hall.

“Ymir!” Krista cried.

“Krista!” Ymir shouted, struggling against her restraints. When Triston pressed the barrel of his revolver against her back, she stopped squirming and instead stared straight ahead.

“Good girl,” he grumbled, keeping a firm hold on her restraints. Ymir growled deep in her chest, which burned in anger.

Krista tried her hardest to hold back her tears when Persephone smiled against her ear creepily and sniffed her hair. “You’re like a flower. Very pretty. You know, when I was younger, before the skinners came and ate my family, I used to have a garden. My mom loved that garden, but I always stepped on her flowers because they were too pretty - pretty things are pointless to have, because all they do is make everyone else feel bad. So I might end up crushing you too.”

Krista stared at the ground in front of her, not knowing what to say. It was pointless trying to talk sense into someone who had lost their mind - they didn’t have any to begin with.

“I don’t make anyone feel bad,” Krista suddenly said, “I always help everyone around me, so you’re wrong.”

Persephone blinked, and then his face became red as she contradicted him. He stopped her and backhanded her roughly. She fell against the wall with a shout of agony.

“Don’t talk back to me, bitch!” Persephone screamed. Krista looked up and saw the fear in the blonde man’s eyes, the absolute fear and regret that consumed the man’s body since he had not followed orders. This gave her courage, because now she realized that her enemies were not all that strong - they had demons that tortured them far more than her own.

To the right were Ymir and Triston, who had stopped moving to observe his brother. Persephone clutched his face in frustration and dropped Ymir’s weapon on the floor beside Krista. When the blonde turned to lock eyes with the brunette, she knew exactly what she had to do.

“Pers!” Triston shouted exasperatedly, “get the goddamn gun and let’s go! The Lord is waiting!”

Persephone shook his head and nodded, bending down near Krista to retrieve his gun. Suddenly, Krista moved her head back and delivered a head-butt powerful enough to knock the blonde man away. He screamed as the pain seared through his skull, and eventually the situation became too much for him and he passed out.

“Brother!” Triston yelled. He aimed his revolver at Krista’s head, face red in anger, but Ymir performed a roundhouse kick and the gun flew from his grip. Ymir kicked his back so that he’d fall over then slammed her heel on the back of his head. Both brothers were sound asleep.

“Great job Krista,” Ymir commended, “now be a good girl and undo my rope with your teeth.”

“B-but... how?”

“I dunno, figure it out! And fast!”

“A-alright…”

After an awkward set of minutes, Krista succeeded in freeing Ymir from her restraints, who in turn freed Krista as well. The brunette grabbed both guns and dragged Krista with her to the stairs. Once they reached the top, they noticed that the sun was rising and that the area was empty. Salmoneus was nowhere in sight, and neither was the other woman, Jezebel.

Ymir and Krista left the Castle of Bones, and thankfully for them, the drawbridge was down which allowed them to cross over the hungry groans of the undead. They walked a bit down the road, and Ymir finally allowed herself to fully relax.

“We’re out of there, I can’t believe it,” Ymir laughed. Krista smiled in relief and nearly laughed, but then she looked down and gasped.

Talus was not a man to be easily defeated. He was a man with inner strength three times as strong as his physical prowess, and had persevered through the toughest circumstances since meeting Salmoneus. Therefore, when Mikasa had sliced his tendons, that had not prevented him from crawling all the way to the base in order to warn his lord of the outcome of events.

When he had found the escapees, it was a golden opportunity for redemption.

He looked up victoriously from where he’d grabbed Ymir’s ankle, but the last thing he saw was a gun aimed between his eyes as the brunette pulled the trigger.

x

Hanji mulled over lost opportunities and the cruelty of life as she backed up into the helicopter and sat down. She brooded quietly to herself until Petra turned to her with an expectant smile, looking around for the boyish face she had grown accustomed to seeing and caring for.

“Hanji? Where’s Marco?” Petra asked worriedly.

Hanji looked at Petra with a broken gaze. “Marco? Marco is gone, Petra.”

“Gone?! What do you mean-”

“He’s dead.”

Petra’s eyes filled with anger as she inhaled sharply. “Dead? How could you-”

“He’s been dead for a while now,” Hanji clarified. She then proceeded to explain exactly what she meant. She explained how Marco had been bitten just before they had met Nanaba, and how Marco had told her to help him and to keep it a secret. Nanaba listened as well, piloting the helicopter at the same time and thinking over the course of events in her mind.

The humming of the engine was the only thing they heard once Hanji finished her explanations. Nova was fast asleep against Petra’s chest, her innocence once again contrasting with the dark and hopeless mood.

“Poor Marco,” Petra’s eyes filled with tears and she put a hand to her mouth, “h-he... he had a boyfriend and- oh, goodness.” She sniffled and clutched Nova tighter against her. Nanaba’s expression became pained and her eyes softened in sympathy. She knew how loss felt, so she could understand.

Hanji scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and patted Petra’s shoulder. “Marco’s… Marco’s not suffering anymore. He’s dead, but at least he’s not a zombie.” That was a lie, a very cruel lie to tell, but the only thing she could say to console Petra. Nanaba had detected it right away and glared at the bespectacled woman, who shook her head solemnly and nodded her head toward Petra.

Petra, honest soul that she was, believed Hanji without a doubt. “Yes, you’re right.”

Hanji smiled slightly and pushed her glasses up as she returned to business. “Alright, Nanaba,” she started, “where are we gonna land this thing?”

“We can’t land in Sina directly, because all transportation requires clearance before entering, which is something I remembered from my last visit as a soldier, so we’ll have to land in a nearby town.”

“Any ideas?”

“Preferably a town with the least amount of zombies.”

“Got it.”

Hanji retrieved a pair of binoculars she found at the back of the helicopter and searched for the perfect area to land. When she looked straight ahead, she gasped and set the binoculars down.

Sina was right in front of them - and smoke was steadily rising from the inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	17. Chapter 17

The walls were large, grey and splattered with blood. Various dead bodies littered the outside, luckily a distance away from the road that Nanaba was flying above and following. Smoke lifted from inside of Sina, but not enough to make them too alarmed. Of course, the fact that something terrible had obviously happened inside of the walls made everyone’s stomach drop in dread.

After all this time of struggling through hordes and troubles they finally arrived at the only place of solace, to find it too in ruins. No one knew what to think, but they had no other plan and nowhere else to go. The only option was to land and see what the hell had happened.

Maybe they were lucky and something minor had happened and everyone was still inside, alive and well.

Nanaba knew through experience that with the amount of smoke it couldn’t be a simple house fire caused by an accident. Her hands tightened until her knuckles turned white and she bit into her lip. How was she going to protect her daughter if Sina had fallen? Where the hell were they supposed to go then?

“Everyone, I’m going to land outside of Sina on the road. Hold on. Petra, hold Nova extra carefully.”

Petra shared a look with Hanji and then leaned over to gently grip Nanaba’s shoulder. She knew that the tall blonde must be feeling the worst out of all of them. She’d left the safety of her apartment to travel with them to a paradise, but now just like Rose this paradise had fallen into hell. Petra was just as worried as everyone else, and when she glanced down at the slumbering blonde in her arms her heart clenched painfully.

Nova… she was still much too young to experience the horrors of their new cruel world. They absolutely had to find somewhere safe to go, somewhere where those things couldn’t get to them. Nova needed a chance to grow up happy and healthy, not plagued by fear and nightmares.

Hanji grabbed onto something to steady herself as the helicopter began its decent. Her mind was running with worries and questions and theories as to why Sina suffered this disaster. Though, they hadn’t really seen the extent of it yet so they couldn’t really assume that Sina was a lost cause. But from their height they had been able to glance over the walls enough to see a few buildings with plumes of smoke rising out of the broken roofs or shattered windows. So far there were no signs of life outside of the walls.

The bodies littering the ground were obviously walkers that had been taken out as they walked into the wall and scratched bloody marks onto the surface. That meant one thing, and it made Hanji swallow. There had been soldiers here, most probably walking the perimeter of the walls either on top of or around it. When the undead roamed close enough they would dispose of them, so as to keep the numbers down. No one knew how strong these things really were, at least Hanji didn’t yet. Their intelligence was of question too. Were they smart enough to work in groups and maybe find a way to climb the wall? It made sense that no one at Sina would have loitered around and waited to see.

Hanji noticed a giant pit to the right of the walls. It was filled with a mountain of bodies. That proved Hanji correct. Once they shot them they would carry them away and dump them.

When the helicopter landed Hanji was jostled from her thoughts. The engine cut off and Nanaba hurried to the back with everyone else. Before she even asked Petra was already holding Nova out to her, and the tall blonde took the tiny bundle with a grateful but sad smile. Nanaba curled around Nova in relief and ran a finger down the baby’s face. She pressed her lips to the top of Nova’s small head and stayed that way for a long while.

No one said anything for a few minutes. They were all trying to sort through the confusion and despair. Something had to be decided, and they all knew it. No one knew what to say. Except Hanji, though, who hadn’t stopped thinking about the situation and methods to counter it. Eventually, when she had allowed the other two enough silence to gather their hearts and minds, Hanji voiced her opinions.

“I observed the area while we descended,” she started. Nanaba finally lifted her head and regarded Hanji seriously. Petra did the same and the two of them waited for the smart woman to continue. “There is a pit around that way,” she pointed in the direction of it, “filled to the brim with bodies. I’ll assume they are the dead, but they could be normal dead corpses too. We can’t simply assume right now. What the pit indicates, however, is that people were actively taking the zombies out as they reached the walls. Again, this is just another theory but the evidence leans strongly towards it. I doubt all the blood on the walls appeared just by the zombies putting their hands on them.” She took a breath through her nose and looked out of the helicopter to the giant gate where the road ended. “I think that staying here is too dangerous but the same goes for going in there. We don’t know what happened or if anyone is still alive in there.” She locked eyes with Nanaba. “But I think our only options are to either leave here and find a different town to rest in, or to journey inside of the walls in search of the paradise we were promised.” Once her words ended Hanji readjusted her glasses and waited for a response.

Nanaba was clearly considering everything Hanji had laid out on the table. The possibility of people still being behind the walls, of soldiers and supplies and shelter was appealing. The other possibility was frightening. But Hanji was right. They were out of sensible options.

“Rose is a lost cause too,” Nanaba said softly. “We can’t go back unless we have no choice. I’m hesitant to go to any other town. It isn’t just the dead that we need to fear.” Something shone through Nanaba’s eyes and she tightened her hold on her daughter. “I had a dream that a group of men invaded my apartment simply to steal our stuff. It was only a dream but it is very likely to happen.”

Hanji nodded. “When put in dire situations humans tend to panic, and when they do they resort to cruel acts to simply survive even if it is not necessary. Some people are already cruel by nature and take this situation as a way to express their carnal desires.” Hanji sighed very deeply and rubbed a thumb over her throbbing temple. “We should consider everyone our enemy.”

“We’ve come this far, we can’t turn back.”

“I agree. But we need to consider the risks.”

“Of course I’m considering the risks. I have a life to protect here.”

Petra looked between Nanaba and Petra and felt saddened at the obvious anxiety on both faces. She wanted to soothe and comfort them both, but she didn’t really know how. Saying everything would be okay was an inconsiderate thing to do. It wouldn’t be okay, they all knew that. Petra did scoot closer to them and put a hand on both of their shoulders. She applied gentle pressure and then smiled gently when they both looked at her.

“You are both trying your best to think of a way around this, and I think you two are amazing for it. But calm down, please. Nova will get upset if she senses how worried you both are.”

Nanaba glanced down at the blonde head peeking out of the blanket. She sighed. “You’re right, Petra.”

Hanji nodded vigorously. “What do you think we should do?” she asked the orange-blonde. The smaller woman hadn’t voiced her thoughts yet and Hanji was curious to see what she was thinking. 

Petra’s brows came together in concentration but determination took over her face. “I think that going back now without knowing what happened in Sina isn’t a good idea.”

“I never thought about it that way,” Nanaba said. Nova had just woken so Nanaba started rocking her gently from side to side to keep her sleepy. She didn’t need to be awake for this. Nova snuggled closer against her father’s chest and sighed softy in content when the strong heartbeat lulled her back to sleep. The little girl grabbed a fistful of Nanaba’s shirt and held tightly onto it.

“I’d say that you and Hanji should go to investigate, but leaving us here is too risky. I can’t properly protect Nova if something were to happen. I can’t go alone with Hanji into Sina either.” Petra took a breath. “So I think we should stick together and go and investigate. If it’s serious we can come right back and head for Shiganshina or something, since it’s really close by.”

Hanji and Nanaba glanced at each other, wanting to see what the other thought, and then they nodded. “Good idea,” they voiced together and chuckled when they did.

“I’ll keep Nova,” Nanaba said. She reached over towards their bags and pulled something out from underneath them. “I brought this with.” She gently handed Nova over to Petra and then slipped a baby carrier on. Once it was positioned correctly she took Nova and put her in it and positioned her correctly too. She made sure that Nova was comfortable and in a safe position, and then she turned to the others with a smile. “This way I can watch her closely and defend us as well.”

Hanji grinned. “Brilliant.”

“And it looks adorable with the way she’s gripping onto your shirt and laying her face on your chest.” Petra’s heart swelled and she swallowed lightly at the charming smile Nanaba sent her way. She berated herself for suddenly feeling butterflies because this was no time to be swooning over someone. They had no idea what could possibly happen in the next few hours.

“Leave the bags for now. Let’s see the situation before we bring the stuff with. Marco is gone so we have extra stuff with one less pair of hands, too.” Nanaba glanced subtly at Hanji but the brunette shrugged. She’d probably have a talk with Nanaba later if they found the chance. The blonde was definitely suspicious of how Marco went. “Take a gun and a knife. I’ll keep my gun by my back but I will not use it unless I absolutely have to,” she ran her fingers through Nova’s soft blonde hair. “I have her attached to my chest after all. Try to use your knives first. Gunshots will scare the hell out of her.”

Hanji walked over to the parent and child and placed a warm hand over Nova’s head. She tilted her head to look Nanaba in the face and winked. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep her in mind.”

Petra joined them and hesitantly took Nanaba’s free hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze and rubbed her thumb over the warm skin as she looked up at the blonde with a smile. “No matter what, Nova comes first.”

Nanaba’s chest swelled. She smiled brightly and pulled them both in for a one armed hug, mindful of the small body against her front. “If you hadn’t show up a few days ago I don’t know where we would be. I know that we all don’t know each other that well, but I will protect all three of you with my life.”

“But Nova comes first,” Petra clarified. She ran a finger over Nova’s cheek and smiled warmly.

Nanaba caught Petra’s hand and smiled too. “Thank you, both of you.”

Hanji had sauntered away to hide her little blush at the unexpected emotional display, ending up by the edge of the road with her hands on her hips. She was looking out over the fields, wondering why there weren’t that many zombies. There were a few stumbling dots in the distance, almost too small to see, but they were there.

“Let’s go,” Nanaba said and handed blades over to the other two. She slipped a smaller one into its sheath at her back and kept the much larger one in her hand. With her free hand she comforted Nova with a hand covering the back of her head. “Are you ready?”

Petra nodded and Hanji released a yell. “Hell yes! Let’s do some investigating!”

Nanaba and Petra both chuckled at the brunette’s eagerness, despite how tense she had been earlier, and then the three of them started the short walk towards the gates.

The walls had to be at least 40 meters high, as was the gate. But unlike the surrounding concrete enclosure, the gate was made of thick metal, probably consisting of layer upon layer.

As they neared the entrance Hanji’s eyes flicked upwards and for a second they widened. She thought that she saw someone glance down at them from the top, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and Hanji decided not to mention it yet.

“How do we open it?” Petra asked.

They reached the giant double doors and paused.

“Knock?” Hanji suggested. Petra sent her an eye-roll but before she could complete it Nanaba had already started knocking. She whirled around and gave the blonde an incredulous look.

“Really?”

“What?” Nanaba shrugged. “I don’t see a bell.” Nanaba laughed outright when Petra gave herself a face-palm. “If anyone is behind these it’s best to alert them that we are here. The dead don’t hear us, so we’re safe with that.” Nanaba took a few steps back and looked upwards to the top of the wall, cupping a hand over her eyes to shield them from the bright morning sun.

“Maybe there’s a side door or something.” Hanji said and pointed to their right. “Why don’t we circle the walls for a bit and see?”

Petra lifted an eyebrow. “Hanji, these walls completely surround Sina. There is no way we can walk around them.”

Hanji released a groan. “Why can’t you stop rejecting my ideas?”

“Because they make no sense most of the time!”

“Yes they do. I put plenty of intelligent thought into them!”

“What intelligence?”

“Guys, that’s enough.” Nanaba gently pulled Petra away from Hanji, as the two had been in each other’s faces. “I think Hanji has a good idea. We should try to walk at least half an hour down each side and look for a different entrance. There’s no way through these gates.”

Petra’s shoulders slumped. She did _not_ want to walk for that long. The thought of running into the dead along the way was just as unappealing.

“Oh, yay!” Hanji clapped her hands together and grinned madly. “I can go and look at the pit when we pass by it!” The brunette immediately started walking to the right, muttering to herself under her breath. Nanaba was about to open her mouth to tell Hanji to wait and Petra was going to yell at her, but then there was a loud bang and the three of them stepped hurriedly away from the gates.

It sounded like some type of mechanism struggling to work, creaking and grating as it moved and the survivors watched in surprise as the giant metal doors started opening inwards. The doors moved incredibly slowly either due to their size or due to damage to whatever moved them.

When a decent sized opening appeared at the middle they spotted a man standing there, back straight and rigid and his hands clasped behind his back. Petra squinted at him for a few moments before her eyes widened to saucers and a grin split her face. Hanji had the same reaction and Nanaba watched them with a raised eyebrow.

“Petra, Hanji,” the man said. His voice was deep and dipped in authority. It almost caused Nanaba to straighten and salute, as the voice reminded her of her days in service. She grinned in amusement at herself.

“Er…” Petra stumbled forward a few steps, eyes wide and brimming with tears. “Erwin?”

The man allowed a small smile and closed his eyes. He nodded. “I was hoping you would get here,” he relaxed his shoulders slightly and then stepped back with one foot. “Unfortunately, nothing is as it should be. But I am glad that you came now.” He opened his eyes and regarded the blonde standing behind the two women he knew. “If you’d come earlier…” He left the sentence hanging, and Nanaba noticed the tense of his jaw.

“What happened here? Did some of the undead get in? Did rebels attack the place?” Hanji asked in a rush. She had many, many more questions. Like how had he opened the door or how had he known they were there. How had he survived until now and if anyone else they knew had made it. The one question on her tongue was asked by Petra instead.

“Did you find Levi?”

Erwin solemnly shook his head. “I searched for days. It is safe to assume that he is dead.”

“But…”

“Come on,” Erwin locked eyes with Nanaba and gave a slight nod. “Get inside before anything else shows up. We can talk at the camp.”

Nanaba wasted no time and walked past the two women who were still frozen in place. She stopped by Erwin’s side and waited for the other two to catch up.

“Is it safe to assume that you are on our side?” Nanaba asked him.

Erwin regarded her for a second and then he turned his head away. “There are no more sides.” And then he unclasped his hands and began to walk.

Nanaba followed and Hanji and Petra ran to catch up. Behind them the giant gate creaked closed before it shut with a loud bang of finality.

XxX

“Ymir!”

“Don’t stop to mourn our enemies!” Ymir exclaimed. “We need to get the hell out of here.”

Krista spared a glance behind them at the man Ymir had just killed and couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief that made guilt fill her stomach like acid. She turned back to the front quickly and grabbed onto Ymir’s shirt.

The sun was getting higher and now the area was bathed in golden light. It was much easier to see the scene of the previous night that had been hidden in the dark. The sight made Krista shiver violently, but she focused on Ymir’s heavy breaths and footsteps and hoped with all her might that they would find Mikasa and Annie by the truck.

They didn’t, and not even Jean was there.

“Goddamnit,” Ymir cursed under her breath. She would have driven off already but she knew that Krista would have refused. There was no way she would abandon her friends. “We are so close, fuck!” The brunette savagely kicked the back tire of the truck and breathed deeply through her nose.

“Wh-what now?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Ymir snapped unintentionally.

Krista visibly flinched and Ymir noticed. She sighed deeply and then pulled Krista against her, pressing her lips to the blonde’s head.

“Fuck, sorry. I’m just pissed now. We just escaped those sick bastards and now we’re stuck because your idiot friends aren’t here.”

Krista sniffled. “We can’t leave them Ymir. Please.”

Ymir sighed. “I know, idiot. These fuckers probably got them.” She released Krista from the hug and walked round the parking area, scanning the roads. Maybe they had hidden somewhere, or something. Where the hell were they?

“I wonder if Jean is with them.”

Ymir just nodded and continued to scan the area, but then her eyes widened and she quickly looked away. There was a cherry blossom tree nearby to the end of the gas station, and at the feet of it Ymir spotted Jeans crumpled form. He was lying in a dark pool of his blood, so Ymir knew that he was definitely dead. She couldn’t let Krista know just yet, so she re-joined the blonde by the truck and put a finger underneath her chin.

“Look, we need to find your friends and get out of here. That means I need to go back in that shithole to save them.” She looked directly into Krista’s teary blue eyes and wavered ever so slightly. Ymir never realized how easily she could drown in those beautiful orbs, but now was not the time to think about it. “Will you stay here and wait for me or come with me?”

“And where do you think you are going?”

Ymir whirled around and immediately pulled Krista behind her.

Salmoneus chuckled darkly. “Did you honestly think that you could escape that easily?”

Ymir glared daggers at the man, wishing that she had fire vision or something. Her hand twitched around her gun but then a knife suddenly pressed to her throat and Triston muttered in her ear.

“I wouldn’t.”

Similarly Persephone grabbed Krista and held his machete to the blonde’s pale neck. The man laughed hysterically with a murderous glint in his eyes.

“Salmoneus, can I please rape this bitch?”

Ymir paled but her glare strengthened. There was absolutely no way she would ever let that happen, even if she had to die to make sure. The intense anger that filled her chest gave her the false hope that she had the strength to overpower them if need be. For now she remained absolutely still and observed the situation.

To put it lightly, they were absolutely screwed.

Salmoneus gave Persephone a dark glare. “If anything I should feed you to the skinners too.”

“My Lord.” Triston spoke up, “my brother-”

“Is a waste of my time,” Salmoneus finished for him. “I’ve only kept him alive for your sake.” The man’s face darkened further. “But even you are treading on thin ice.”

Ymir heard Triston swallow and felt the blade tremble against her skin. She grit her teeth tightly and hoped that maybe these idiots would lung at him or something, but they didn’t and then Salmoneus ordered them to pushed the two teens onto their knees. They did, and then the man lifted his gun and grinned evilly.

“I was going to have a little fun with you,” he said. “But you are no longer worth my time, either.”

Salmoneus pressed his finger to the trigger but then Krista desperately spoke. “Wait! Please, don’t do this. We are all fellow humans. We shouldn’t be killing each other when those creatures out there want to eat us!” Her eyes filled with tears. “Why are you doing this?”

Salmoneus paused and eyed Krista with curiosity. “Are you serious?” He shared a look with Persephone and for once they agreed on something. They both laughed loudly. “Girl, this town became mine the minute the world ended. If the zombies didn’t kill them then I either turned them or killed them.” His eyes shone with absolute madness. “I enjoy seeing the fear and pain on your pathetic faces!” He narrowed his eyes. “So please cease with your naïve ideas and just die, alright?”

Salmoneus lifted his weapon again and Krista managed to lunge herself at Ymir to wrap her arms around her. Ymir didn’t have enough time to push Krista away before the gun went off, but then a strange sound rang through their ears and Ymir opened her eyes.

Mikasa stood in front of them with her sword stretched in front of her. She kept a serious expression and pointed the tip of her blade at Salmoneus’ throat. When he had pulled the trigger Mikasa had deflected the bullet with her katana and then sliced his gun in half. Salmoneus had no choice but to swallow and lift his hands in surrender.

Persephone yelled crazily but was silenced when Annie appeared in front of him and slit his throat, like what had been done to Jean. The psychotic man fell over and gargled his last breath. Triston yelled and lunged for Annie, only to have her blade pierce through his heart. He too fell beside his brother and choked on the blood rushing out of his mouth.

“Ymir, are you both okay?” Annie asked. She took a stance beside Mikasa with her blades in front of her.

“Yeah, we’re fine. We need to go.”

Mikasa nodded steadily and kept her gaze on Salmoneus’ face. Suddenly a black figure appeared, her doubled bladed weapon lunging straight for Mikasa, but then Salmoneus yelled for her to stop.

“Jezebel, back off!”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes but smirked at the utter fury on the woman’s face.

Salmoneus had made a smart choice. Even if Jezebel had managed to injure or kill Mikasa, Annie would have already killed Salmoneus and Ymir had her gun.

“I don’t know who you are, but we are leaving.” Mikasa said. She nodded towards the truck and Annie quickly pulled the couple with her. Once they were inside she climbed into the driver’s side and started the car. Annie reversed and then stopped with the door open for Mikasa. “Don’t even move.” Mikasa warned. She slowly started backing towards the truck, eyes fierce and dangerous. Salmoneus watched her go and when the blade was far enough away he suddenly pulled a handgun from his back and started shooting.

Mikasa was quick to dodge the bullets and dive into the truck. Wheels skidded on the tar and dust flew in their wake as Annie sped them away from the gas station and down the road. The blonde didn’t ease on the gas until they left Shiganshina and headed straight for Sina.

“G-guys,” Krista said shakily and sniffed. She was enveloped in Ymir’s arms and trembling, but she was so relieved that everyone was okay. But then she realized that someone was missing and she gasped. “Wait, we left Jean!”

Ymir grimaced at the same time that Annie and Mikasa shared a look. “Krista… Jean… he…”

“Jean was killed last night,” Annie finished for Ymir.

“There was nothing we could have done. He wondered off on his own.” Mikasa said.

Krista grew quite but tears swept down her face. Memories of her time with the boy flashed before her eyes and a deep pain stabbed at her heart. She clutched at her shirt and sobbed softly against Ymir’s neck. The brunette sighed but allowed her to. She just hoped that Krista got over it soon.

But Ymir couldn’t deny that even she felt slight sadness. Everyone kept dying.

“Sina is only 40 minutes away. Once we get there we’ll be safe.” Ymir said into Krista’s ear. The blonde nodded but continued to sob quietly. The other three felt their hearts break for her and knew that they all had to stay strong and focused.

If this could happen, then there was no telling what else waited for them.

XxX

True to Ymir’s words the ride to Sina only took around 38 minutes. Annie mainly sped since there were no other cars on the road. This alarmed them, because they expected to at least see some sort of activity outside of the city. But as they neared it they sensed that something was amiss, and Mikasa caught sight of the smoke.

They were all utterly devastated

“What’s that?” Ymir asked, pointing forward.

Mikasa followed the brunette’s finger and squinted. “A helicopter.”

“Doesn’t look like it’s been here long,” Ymir commented. “Think that maybe there are still people here?”

“Only one way to find out,” Mikasa said with a frown.

Ymir sat back against her seat and rubbed a hand over her face. She was extremely tired, since they hadn’t had any sleep last night. Krista was fast asleep, the lucky little shit. When Ymir sat back Krista returned to her earlier position of using the brunette as a pillow and sighed in content. Ymir blushed lightly and ran her long fingers through Krista’s golden hair.

Through the heaps of shit thrown their way they had come out alive. Maybe not clean, because Krista certainly would need some time to come to terms with everything. But they were at least alive and finally at the dream that they had been chasing.

“Knew it was too good to be true,” Ymir muttered under her breath. Krista shifted and the brunette looked down to meet foggy blue eyes.

“Ymir? Are we there yet?”

Ymir gazed out of the window and continued to run her fingers through Krista’s hair. The blonde shivered and curled up against Ymir in response. “Yeah, but it looks like something happened. No one is here and there’s smoke inside of Sina.”

Krista grew still, eyes wide, and then she relaxed and released a breath. “That isn’t so surprising.”

Ymir’s eyes widened and she glanced down at the blonde, but Krista had already closed her eyes again and snuggled closer to Ymir.

The car came to a stop behind the helicopter and Ymir gently lifted Krista into a sitting position. “We’re here.”

Krista rubbed her eyes and sighed. She didn’t look enthusiastic, in fact, she looked sad and empty. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

Everyone climbed out but Mikasa and Annie had their weapons drawn. They didn’t want to walk by the helicopter without being prepared, in case something sinister waited inside. As they neared it something suddenly dropped out of the machine, and then more objects. Mikasa noted that they were bags. Seconds after the last bag dropped a figure emerged from the helicopter and dropped down by what was guessed to be the supplies.

Mikasa and Annie immediately got into fighting stances and held their swords out in front of them. Behind them Ymir ordered Krista to stay put and went to stand beside the other two, her gun ready and aimed at the stranger.

Nanaba dusted her hands off on her pants and leaned down to pick one of the bags up, but then she heard the scuff of feet and her heart leapt into her throat. She immediately withdrew her gun and whirled around, the muzzle pointed forward. Her eyes widened when she came face to face with four young faces.

“Drop it,” Mikasa ordered.

“Now,” Annie added.

Nanaba swallowed. She knew that she could take these kids out. She was skilled and way more experienced, no matter how fierce the two looked with their blades. It was obvious that the brunette wasn’t all that familiar with battle, and the blonde behind them looked on with wide, scared eyes. Nanaba did not want to hurt them, but she feared that they would steal her supplies and then kill her. With the new world order, one couldn’t simply judge someone by their looks. The teens looked innocent, but they could be anything but.

“No,” Nanaba said calmly. “How about you drop it?” She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just came here for my supplies.”

Suddenly Krista appeared between them, arms outstretched and facing her friends. “Stop it!” She was breathing heavily and her face was red. The blonde turned hesitantly around to face the much taller blonde and swallowed when those fierce grey eyes fell on her. “W-we just came here for Sina. Are you here for that too?”

Nanaba didn’t relax but she nodded. “I came here with a group from Rose. We managed to find this helicopter, and someone inside Sina let us in. The place isn’t a paradise anymore, but there are safe areas.”

Krista smiled in relief and turned back to her friends. Ymir was giving her the most fierce glare, as were her other two friends, but she ignored it and instead pointed at their weapons. “Put them away! You drew your weapons first and all she wants is to get back to Sina. We can ask for her help.”

Mikasa ignored Krista and walked past her. Nanaba tensed and kept a steady gaze on Mikasa’s stony face. “What is your name?”

Nanaba lifted an eyebrow but answered. “Nanaba.”

“I’m Mikasa. The blondes are Krista and Annie and the one with freckles is Ymir.” Slowly Mikasa lowered her sword, and then she completely withdrew and sheathed it. Ymir and Annie both sputtered in surprise. “Could we ask for your help?”

Nanaba lowered her gun but did not put it away. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“You can’t,” Mikasa answered deadpan. “But we can help you too, in exchange.” She pointed at the bags. “Those are too many for you to carry all at once.” Nanaba simply stared for a long moment and studied Mikasa’s expression and body language. Eventually she concluded that although Mikasa was a dangerously skilled person who wouldn’t hesitate to do what needed to be done, she didn’t want to cause senseless violence. Nanaba greatly trusted her instincts.

“Okay,” she returned her gun to its holster. The others reluctantly put their weapons away too. “We have a camp back in Sina. If you help me with the bags then I’ll take you there.” She leaned down and picked one up to toss it at Mikasa. The black haired girl caught it without a problem and slipped her arms through the straps.

“Wait, are we just going to accept this?” Ymir asked. “We don’t even know her! Have you all forgotten what we just went through?”

Annie sighed, reluctant to voice that she agreed with Ymir.

“Look, I don’t like this either,” Nanaba said. “I don’t know any of you and I’m taking you back to my family, where you could possibly hurt them. But I’m not an asshole, and I can’t leave a couple of kids out here on their own.”

“We aren’t kids, blondie. We’ve survived on our own up until now.”

Krista went up to Ymir and pressed a finger to her lips. “Ymir, I understand where you’re coming from, but I can see it in her eyes.”

Ymir’s eyebrows scrunched together. “See what?”

“She’s been through just as much as us. She doesn’t want any more trouble.”

Despite her inner disagreement Annie went over to accept a bag of her own. They just had to wait for Krista to convince Ymir.

“But-”

“This time you need to trust me.” Krista leaned up and gently kissed Ymir’s cheek. The brunette immediately blushed. “Okay?”

“Fine.” Ymir scowled and followed Krista over to Nanaba. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll trust her. I swear, if you do anything I’ll kill you myself.”

Nanaba narrowed her eyes at Ymir’s threat and immediately straightened. The anger that flashed over her face scared even Ymir. “You will never get close enough to even touch me, child. Don’t ever threaten me like that again. You don’t know me and you don’t know what I’m capable of.” Just the thought of someone taking her away from Nova made Nanaba tremble in anger. There was no way she would let a cocky teenager threaten her that way.

Ymir puffed up in anger and was about to yell profanities, but she was suddenly knocked over when Mikasa threw one of the bags at her. It hit her square in the stomach and knocked the breath right out of her.

“Ymir, shut up.” Mikasa warned. She accepted the glare Ymir sent her way with a glare of her own and the brunette got up without a word. Krista went to comfort her but Ymir shrugged her hand off and stomped on ahead.

Nanaba shook her head and followed, as did the rest. When they reached the gate it opened and Nanaba strode confidently through. It was absolutely deserted inside, and eerily so because of the smoke in the distance and the looming walls surrounding them. The streets were empty, buildings were vacant and there were hardly any cars.

“Um, Nanaba?” Krista had hurried to the front to walk beside the blonde who looked down at the call of her name.

“Mm?”

“What happened here? Wasn’t Sina supposed to be really safe?”

Nanaba nodded. “It was safe for the first while.”

“So what happened?” Mikasa popped up on Nanaba’s other side and asked. Annie remained at Mikasa’s side, and no one noticed that Annie’s hand had disappeared into Mikasa’s pocket to intertwine fingers with the dark haired girl’s.

“Well, as you all know Sina was house to many of the country’s richest people. That’s why they were able to put such ridiculous safety measures into place. No one ever expected the walls to come in handy. Once survivors started pouring in, food became scarce as well as space. The rich were repulsed by the poor and they tried to stop the influx of survivors.” Krista gasped softly, unbelieving that people would do something like that. “The poorer citizens grew resentful of the rich and apparently there were heavy tensions. Often the city would hold a big meeting and each time those speaking for the rich would voice their reasons against letting any more people into the city. Their desires were always shot down. These people had mansions and plots of land, but they refused to relinquish them for those that needed it.”

Ymir trailed behind them, listening intently but pretending not to while she sulked and stared off to the side.

“So eventually one of them got sick of the arguments and of the many people demanding that they share their space, and one man opened the gates while a giant horde was passing by. He was a goddamn idiot, ruining the safety for absolutely everyone just because they couldn’t keep their luxury.” Nanaba’s fists tightened.

Erwin had told them the tale shortly after they made it to where he had been staying. The man had said that there more many more survivors still here but most never even left their hiding spots. Erwin made sure to help the survivors still coming and told them all what had happened. He was also preparing to make a broadcast soon and inform any other people coming to Sina that it was no longer worth it. For now all he could do was stay alert and let people in once they arrived. He also took care of any stray walkers that wondered by. It was lonely and taxing to do it all on his own, but he knew that he had to in order for there to be any chance of humanity surviving. Just because everyone else had fled and given up didn’t mean that he had to.

“Those against the rich had already been planning a rebellion, so when someone told them of what the man did all hell broke loose. Between angry people killing each other and the dead killing the living, it was a blood bath. Those that were able immediately fled the city or hid underground.” Nanaba glanced up at the sky. “The gate to the north of Sina was knocked down in everyone’s panic to leave. There’s no way for us to fix it on our own, so there are still undead walking around in here.”

Krista startled and grabbed a hold of Nanaba’s arm, blushing when she did so. Nanaba chuckled and gave her head a comforting pat. “Don’t worry, this area has been fenced off. Erwin, the man that told us about what happened, has been working very hard to make areas around here safe enough for those that still come.” She smiled at Krista to reassure her and the blonde visibly relaxed. Behind them Ymir growled in jealously and bit down on her lip.

She could no longer stand there alone so she hurried forward and pulled Krista into her arms. Nanaba was surprised at first, but then she grinned when she realized that Ymir was jealous.

“Relax Ymir. I won’t steal your girlfriend. I’m not into girls that young.” Ymir and Krista blushed crimson and Mikasa chuckled softly.

“N-no… we aren’t…” Krista fumbled for words but her embarrassment was too great. Ymir didn’t let go of her though and she was glad for it. The only thing that really comforted her these days was the warmth from Ymir’s body, and the scent that clung to her no matter what she wore or how many days they went without bathing.

The group continued on in silence. They still had many questions, but Nanaba seemed to be rushing. Mikasa was suspicious. Nanaba wasn’t looking around them like a threat could appear, but she did look worried and her steps were fast. Since she was taller than all of them, even Ymir, the others had to jog to keep up. Whatever Nanaba was hurrying for, it must be important.

Eventually they arrived at an estate. The electric gate – which obviously had no power – easily opened as Nanaba pushed it aside. She waited until everyone filed in and then she closed it and returned the chain and lock that had kept it secure before she had left for the supplies. There were high walls surrounding the property, so the area was definitely safe.

“You said you came here with people…” Krista was still blushing but she managed to look up at Nanaba’s face. Despite the tease Krista really liked the tall blonde. Everything about her just put the smaller blonde at ease and she knew that she could relax around her. Nanaba was someone who protected. “Your family?”

Nanaba smiled fondly, thinking of Nova, and nodded. “Yeah, you’ll meet them now.”

They walked down the long driveway and then ascended the many porch stairs. A big fountain sat in front of the house, not spraying water like it should have. The water that did remain in it had turned green and murky. If there had ever been fish in there, they were certainly dead by now.

Krista found Ymir’s hand and intertwined their fingers as she marvelled at the big house. It looked really fancy and was probably incredibly expensive, and for a second Krista felt under the illusion that they were not here because of an apocalypse. But then the door opened and Nanaba ushered them in, and the illusion faded.

“Just drop it all here, I’ll get it later.” Nanaba said as she placed her bag down by the wall and then headed straight for one of the rooms. “Nova?” she called out.

“Nova, who is Nova?” Ymir questioned with suspicion.

“Da!” Petra exited the room before Nanaba could enter it, Nova in her arms. The little girl was wide awake and absolutely ecstatic to see her daddy back. Petra looked extremely relieved too. None of them had wanted Nanaba to leave alone, but somehow she had won the argument. Erwin couldn’t accompany her because he had to tend to some sort of business somewhere else.

Nanaba took her daughter from Petra’s arms and twirled her around in happiness. “Were you a good girl for ma, huh?” Nova giggled when Nanaba started kissing all over her face and flailed her small arms.

“She’s always behaved, Nanaba. You’re her parent, after all.”

Nanaba snorted and gave Petra a look. “I used to leave her home alone.”

“You had no choice.”

Nanaba sighed and relented, but then she surprised Petra by pulling her in for a tight one armed hug. “Glad to see me back?” she asked playfully.

Petra blushed and gently shoved Nanaba away. “Of course!”

Someone cleared their throat by the door and Petra startled. She instinctively grabbed onto Nanaba and peeked around her body to where the sound had come from. Petra then gasped and stepped away from the tall blonde.

“Krista! Mikasa! Annie! You’re all okay!” The three girls were shocked to see their former English teacher here, but Krista immediately ran forward to engulf the woman in a hug. “How did you all get here? Did Nanaba find you?”

Krista vigorously nodded and sniffled lightly. “I’m so glad to see you. At least not everyone I care about is dead.”

Petra’s eyes softened and she pressed Krista into a tighter hug. “How about I make tea for you all and we tell our stories?” The orange-blonde received nods of approval from everyone and then she pulled out of the hug, but not before whispering into her former student’s ear. “And then you can tell me who that freckled girl is that you were hanging onto.”

Krista blushed and whined. “Petra!” Was everyone in the mood to pick on her today? Despite the embarrassment, Krista was happy. Besides Ymir doing it, no one had been this playful with her in a while. It felt refreshing.

“Da!” Nova started pulling on Nanaba’s hair and the woman sighed. She captured her daughter’s hands and pressed a kiss to them, and then to Nova’s nose.

“Since you all know Petra I guess I don’t need to introduce her, but this here is Nova.” Nanaba turned towards the teens and waved Nova’s hand at them. “My daughter.”

Ymir watched the tiny version of Nanaba look at them with happy eyes and then giggle and stick a finger up Nanaba’s nose. She suddenly felt bad for the threat she had made, and Nanaba’s intense anger because of it made sense now. The suspicion fell away and Ymir wanted to scowl.

“Erwin and Hanji are here too,” Petra told them with a smile. “But Erwin is out and Hanji went with him. They should be back by tonight. So, tea?”

Everyone smiled and released a collective breath together, and then they all followed Petra through the impressively spacious house towards the lounge. They spent the next hour drinking tea and exchanging tales of their journey up until then.

The whole time Krista never left Ymir’s side.

XxX

That night Ymir sat alone outside on the porch steps. She stared listlessly up at the dark sky, ignoring the twinkling stars. Though she was staring at the sky Ymir wasn’t looking at anything in particular. She was lost in her thoughts and too busy thinking; of everything from the moment she pulled Krista up over the railing until now.

Why had Ymir saved her that day? It was pretty simple to her now. It was because she loved her. She hadn’t known it then, but she knew it now. Krista was the most important person to her, which was a first. Ymir never cared enough about other people to put them first, but she did it for Krista. The little blonde had pulled at her heart with her fearful cries and now she stole it with the way she smiled.

Ymir could honestly admit to herself that she wanted Krista by her side. She wanted to spend the rest of her miserable life with the little blonde that lit her world up.

These thoughts had been triggered while everyone shared their stories and Ymir ultimately had to share hers too. Mikasa and Annie still hadn’t known the story of how Krista had survived, and when they finally found out they felt marginally better about the brunette. Ymir had also been in a mood and called the two out on their intimate position that day she had peeked inside of the car. Krista was probably talking to them about that now, because shortly afterwards Ymir had excused herself to sit outside and think.

Ymir didn’t reflect often, but when she did her mind was consumed by it. So when Nanaba suddenly appeared beside her Ymir was surprised, though she didn’t let Nanaba see it.

“Thinking?”

Ymir looked down at her feet, guilty. “Yeah.” She still felt bad for her shitty treatment towards Nanaba. The main reason was because of Nova. Ymir wasn’t that much of an asshole and she did care when it counted.

“So you and the blonde, are you together?” Nanaba playfully nudged Ymir’s shoulder and chuckled at the glare she got as a response. “Oh come on, I’ve let go of what happened earlier. I can tell that it’s bothering you.”

Ymir scratched her cheek and sighed. How the hell did this woman know what she was thinking? “Sorry, I guess. Didn’t know you had a kid.”

Nanaba shrugged. “You had no way to know. I get it, though, so relax. Since Petra knows you guys I’m not worried.”

Ymir didn’t respond and grew uncomfortable. She wasn’t keen about strangers, but she still felt bad about earlier. That fact alone made her scowl and grit her teeth. After a while the silence grew annoying so Ymir decided to talk. Maybe if she embarrassed Nanaba or something she would leave.

“So what’s up with you and Petra, huh? I see you giving her love eyes all the time.”

Nanaba laughed. “’Love eyes’? Well, I guess that’s right. She’s wonderful with Nova and she’s gorgeous.” The blonde grinned. “At least I can be honest about it.”

Ymir grumbled. “Whatever.”

Nanaba chuckled and gave Ymir a hard slap on the back. “I actually came to let you know that dinner is almost ready. I’ll come back to get you when it is.” She stood and dusted her pants off. “Enjoy your thinking.”

Ymir rolled her eyes and sighed when the tall blonde walked back into the house and left her alone. Now she could get back to thinking, or so she thought. Just as Nanaba left another blonde passed by and stepped outside. She approached Ymir and sat down close beside her.

“What is it with blonde people and hassling me?”

Krista pouted. “Don’t be a meanie.”

Ymir rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So, what do you want?”

Krista scooted ever so closely until their sides were fully touching, and then she smiled and leaned her head against Ymir. “I just missed you. You’ve been out here for a while. What were you doing?”

“Thinking.”

“Of?”

“Of everything.” Ymir hesitated. “And… you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

Krista smiled brightly and wrapped both arms around one of Ymir’s. “You know, after we told everyone how we met I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“I was pretty bad ass, wasn’t I?”

“No, I'm talking about before that.”

Ymir’s eyebrows creased in confusion. “We met before that?”

“Yeah, remember? You knocked into…” Krista paused and took a deep breath. “Into Sasha and I tried to help you up.”

Realization dawned on Ymir and then she laughed. “Ha! How funny is that? The day the world goes to hell we meet, before it actually does.”

Krista bumped Ymir with her head. “You were a real jerk, you know.”

“Yeah well I thought you were one of those prissy rich girls. But I know better now, squirt.” Ymir turned her head to grin down at the blonde, which made her blush.

They fell into comfortable silence. Crickets made noises somewhere in the grass and it was a strangely welcoming sound. Everything felt strangely normal for once. They felt safe even though they all knew that it wouldn’t last forever.

“Ymir?” Krista spoke up. Ymir trailed her eyes back to Krista’s face. “What would you do if I’m in love with you?”

Ymir’s eyes widened and her body froze. Krista didn’t let go of her arm but she did tighten her grip. Did Krista just…? But so out of the blue! How the hell was Ymir supposed to process this? Sure, they’d kissed a few times and even slept on top of each other, but this… this was a lot different.

“I… um…”

“It’s okay if you can’t answer me now, I’ll understand if you don’t even feel the same.”

Ymir recovered quickly enough to snort and pull Krista into her lap. “Seriously? Like I go and risk my life for just anyone, kiss just anyone…” She paused. “… love… just anyone.”

Krista studied Ymir’s freckles and the blush dusted over them. Her heart swelled with warmth and happiness. “Even though everything still hurts, in a sick way I’m glad this apocalypse happened.” When Ymir turned a reluctant but questioning gaze at her, Krista clarified. “Because I got to meet you and fall head over heels for you.”

Ymir’s heart skipped a beat and she released a heavy breath. She felt at a loss for words, so she decided not to use them and instead dipped down to kiss Krista more passionately than she ever had. It was the first real, love filled kiss they had shared, and it was beautiful.

But it was sadly ruined when Nanaba cleared her throat by the door and grinned apologetically when Ymir glared at her. “I was waiting but you guys were kind of taking a while… dinner is ready.” Nanaba gave a blushing Krista a wink and then disappeared back into the house.

“Goddamnit,” Ymir cursed.

Krista was embarrassed that someone had seen them, but she was still buzzing with happiness and with something else that only Ymir could make her feel. She giggled and caressed Ymir’s face. “I love you Ymir.”

Ymir swallowed her usual aversion to feelings and smiled down at the girl in her arms. “Love you too, squirt.”

They got up together, and then they joined the others for the first home cooked meal anyone had had in too long a time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	18. Chapter 18

Happiness, peace and relief were abound in Sina, land of the safe, and many rejoiced at future years of safety and hopeful prosperity. The band of survivors from Maria had diminished to an unfortunately small amount, but it was the survival of the fittest at play. Only the strongest could survive the trials and tribulations of life, and those who could not, perished at the hands of the strong.

It was this mentality that Salmoneus kept in mind as he watched the truck speed off into the distance, a group of lucky survivors on-board that had managed to overcome the strongest and defy the universal code of nature. The King of the Castle of Bones was, to say the least, extremely unpleased. Not only had they escaped his clutches, they had killed three of his people, one of which was his closest confidant, and completely humiliated him. He was disgraced, ashamed, but most of all, vengeful.

He wanted to exact revenge on those who had destroyed his empire, because he no longer had anything to live for.

However, he was not stupid. He knew that these survivors were on their way to Sina - many people he had thrown in his zombie pits had shouted something about that before being devoured - and so he also knew that they were under a lot of protection. It would not be easy to barge in and eliminate them all for their deeds. No, he needed a different plan, a different method of revenge.

He wanted to hurt them right where it mattered the most - especially for that strange brunette who had defied his rule with her arrogant glare and cocky gait.

Salmoneus sat on the throne he had constructed in his castle of bones, drumming his fingers on the armrest. As he contemplated a cruel plot, Jezebel appeared in front of him, kneeling. Her movements were controlled and as light as a shadow.

“My Lord? What is our next move?” she asked lowly, keeping her eyes to the floor.

Salmoneus sighed and stood, putting his arms behind his back. “Our next move? Revenge,” he answered, chuckling as he thought of it, “we’ll avenge our fallen comrades, and we’ll annihilate whatever semblance of peace there may be in the Promised Land of Sina.”

Jezebel stood and nodded. “Excellent. I will retrieve the vehicle the survivors left for transportation purposes and inspect it.”

“Yes, you do that. I will dispose of the bodies left behind and formulate a plan. There will be no such thing as hell after death. Hell will exist in my palms, and hellfire in my breath.”

Jezebel bowed and took her leave, swiftly ascending the steps and making her way towards the car that Ymir and the others had left behind in their haste. As she entered the driver’s side, all she could think of was snuffing the life out of blue eyes and blonde hair. She not only wanted to tame the lion, but to kill it as well.

Salmoneus watched the day break from the entrance of his castle of ruins. He breathed in the sulphuric and dead air and grinned. He hummed to the sounds of groans and shuffles as though it were a symphony, and threw the bodies of Persephone, Talus and Triston to the undead. He watched their bodies get torn apart, and slowly, he released a maniacal laugh that chilled Jezebel to her core.

x

Three weeks.

Three weeks since the incident in Shiganshina, since they had arrived in Sina, since life had finally settled to a routine pace.

It finally seemed as though things were back to normal - as normal as they could be. Though Sina was still unsafe for survivors, the group had managed to isolate themselves from the violence and provided a proper area to live and grow, especially for Nova. Mikasa and Annie had made it their duty to use whatever power they had to eliminate any threats to their camp, while Ymir and Krista worked hard to keep order and tend to anyone’s needs.

Nanaba found a great partner in Petra, and the two grew closer just as Nova grew bigger and smarter. Hanji, however, distanced herself the more she spent time with Erwin, finally being allowed to indulge in her interests and conduct experiments on the living dead. The blonde man had welcomed Hanji’s information with wide eyes and further plans for investigation, and provided the tools necessary for other experiments that could aid them later on. However, his only condition was that Hanji would absolutely not capture a zombie and bring it back to camp - Nova was far too precious to take that risk.

Petra was the mother hen of the group. She ensured that everyone had something to eat, slept well, was warm enough at night and gave plenty of attention to anyone who needed her help. Her caring nature made her heart big enough for anyone who needed love, and it was this that made Nanaba more dependent on her as she grew busier with her job of building security measures to keep everyone safe. Petra, at some point, had become Nova’s mother.

Ymir and Krista, since confessing their true feelings to each other, were even more inseparable than they were before. Where Krista was, Ymir was sure to be there, and vice versa. If Krista had too many chores, Ymir would get up - actually get up! - and help her out. Sometimes, when Nanaba was too busy helping Erwin, and Petra was occupied with her daily chores, Ymir and Krista would look after Nova and play with her.

Nova was fast approaching seven months, and had begun babbling a bit and imitating the sounds she heard. She had gotten familiar with her daddy’s new friends, but her favourite would always be Nanaba, and second, Petra. Sometimes, when Ymir carried Nova across the living area and brought her near Nanaba - who would be working on a building project of sorts - the baby would immediately extend her arms out and demand attention from her daddy.

Ymir called her ‘brat’, something Krista often scolded her for. Ymir also liked to test Krista’s patience by throwing the baby in the air and catching her. While Nova squealed in delight, Krista squeaked in horror. The blonde had once made a comment that Ymir would be a horrible parent, to which the brunette had grinned suggestively and embraced the blonde around her shoulders, mouth to her ear.

“Wanna try and find out?”

Of course, Krista had blushed heavily and pushed Ymir away, pretending to be mad but really, deeply, secretly hoping she was serious. More than ever, she longed for deeper bonds, closer relations - something concrete, something she couldn’t lose so easily.

It was the type of relationship she thought only existed in movies, the type that she’d always dreamed of having, but thought impossible to attain. True love, where she could help and be helped, where there was an unspoken compromise that made both parties smile, where their individual value still existed but was glorified by the other person in a healthy way. It felt amazing.

A touch brought butterflies, a kiss made her toes curl and a phrase made her float above clouds. Ymir had an amazing effect on her, made her feel incredibly vulnerable and protected at the same time… she could not imagine losing the brunette without being accompanied by the overwhelming feeling of depression, loss and sadness. Ymir was a part of her, and though she could survive without her, she wouldn’t be as happy.

Ymir, on the other hand, was just beginning to experience love. She was still trying to understand what it meant to share something she couldn’t see or grasp with someone who meant so much to her. She was also trying to understand how she could devote herself to one person without feeling the need to possess them entirely. Ymir had never had any true friends, and she was afraid that latching onto the one person she had grown accustomed to was the wrong decision.

In truth, it was the only decision. Falling in love is not something a human could even think to control. It involved complex hormone cycles, mental thought processes that could not be analysed and the perfect timing. There was also the factor of fitting together, of being the right person to complete the object of your affection. Love does not take two halves to make a whole; rather, it takes two complete beings to make a couple, a pair.

Ymir found that her being with Krista did not complete her, but instead it made her see things from a different perspective, and made her less naive than she was before meeting Krista. She (marginally) understood feelings, and learned to be selfless when it counted. Krista enriched her life, and vice versa.

Times of peace often came with great reflexion, and that was how Krista had found Ymir one early, gloomy morning, three weeks after they had shared a hopeful kiss under bright starlight.

The blonde plopped down near the brunette and wrapped her arms around her elbow, leaning her head against her shoulder. Ymir smiled and intertwined their fingers, content with the warmth beside her.

“What are you thinking about?” Krista enquired, closing her eyes as exhaustion overcame her. It was far too early to be up, but Nanaba strongly disagreed with that.

Ymir mulled over her possible answer. Would Krista laugh if she said the truth? Rather, was it really worth talking about? Maybe she’d make her blush instead.

“You,” Ymir answered simply, glancing down with a smirk.

Krista blushed and buried her face against the brunette’s shoulder. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“What about me?”

Ymir shrugged and laughed. Krista giggled and relented with her questions, instead preferring to listen to Ymir breathe and the sounds of work from within the estate.

“What are you thinking about?” Ymir asked in turn. Krista jumped slightly, not expecting the question.

“Nothing…” Krista mumbled.

“So it’s true! Blondes really are airheads!” Ymir exclaimed, snickering under her breath. Krista frowned and relinquished her grip of Ymir’s arm. The brunette raised an eyebrow, wondering what the blonde was up to, but immediately put her hands to her head when it erupted in pain. Krista had head-butted her.

“Ah... never mind, you’ve got something in that head of yours after all,” Ymir muttered in annoyance.

Krista stuck her tongue out victoriously and turned her head when she heard her name. Petra poked her head out of the door with a hopeless look on her face.

“Krista? I need your help. Meet me in the kitchen, pronto.” Petra dashed inside and presumably made her way toward the kitchen.

Krista sighed and stood, Ymir as well, and wrapped her arms around the brunette’s neck. She pressed her cheek to the area above her heart, and listened to the strong beat that always made her feel protected and safe. Ymir wrapped her arms around Krista’s waist and bent her neck to press a kiss to the crown of her head.

“I’m gonna go see what Petra wants,” Krista sighed, “be good and don’t cause any trouble, alright?”

“Can’t promise anything, especially if any of those other idiots come by here,” Ymir grumbled. Recently, there had been other survivors coming by and begging to be let in to their estate. However, whenever they were allowed in, they were always caught trying to harm someone or were infected themselves, which prompted immediate expulsion from the camp. With the exception of a few isolated groups, the estate was comprised of only the band of survivors from Maria and Rose.

Krista shook her head in amusement and leaned up for a kiss, to which Ymir eagerly reciprocated. It started out slow and sensual, then quickly became more passionate as the fact that they would be separated fully sunk in and snagged their emotions. Ymir cupped Krista’s jaw and tilted her head, opening her mouth to poke her tongue out, and Krista moaned slightly as she felt the strange but good feeling fill her senses. This was new, this was exhilarating, and they couldn’t get enough.

Their lips moved in sync from hours of practice during crispy nights under the same blanket, and their hands wandered just as the flame in their gut expanded. When air became crucial, they parted and ventilated rapidly to compensate. However, their faces were kept close, and each breath from their significant other sent shocks down their spines.

The sexual tension rising with the inability to express and relieve it, Krista backed away from Ymir feeling incredibly unsatisfied and wanting something more. Ymir watched her go with a blank look, though she too felt what her hopeful-lover felt. The blonde waved and smiled as she entered the estate, and Ymir was quick to cover her blush with her hand when Krista blew a kiss just before leaving.

x

Salmoneus was eager. He was very eager, far more eager than he’d ever been. Even more eager than the news of the apocalypse broke through.

It was time - time for revenge.

After endless planning and training, Salmoneus had perfected the ultimate plot that would cut the Nordic giant to her core and break her spirit. The king of bones would show her mercilessness, and after emptying the hope and defiance in her spirit, would feed her carcass to the monsters that feasted on flesh. His plan was now being executed with every breath he took.

They were on the outside of Sina, Ymir’s car parked near the gates. The duo had managed to travel all the way to Sina in a single night, and the eerie morning brought a smile upon the king’s lips. Salmoneus stood a few metres away from the gate, marvelling at humanity’s accomplishments. What a shame - he would be its destructor.

Jezebel remained at his side, but once given the signal, left to proceed with her job. The only way to enter the city was to pass through the gates or scale the wall; however the wall was far too high to even attempt the latter. Salmoneus would need to disguise himself as a feeble survivor to enter, putting his persona of king behind him for the moment.

The man approached the gate, donning a battered cloak and a greying beard, and knocked weakly. He stepped back, awaiting an answer, and was not disappointed when a man appointed by Erwin cracked the entrance open.

“Who goes there?” the man called.

Salmoneus stepped up and pretended to wet his dry lips. “I... I am an old man fortunate enough to have found my way here, young one. Allow me to pass through; I am knowledgeable in various trades and can help the survival effort.”

The guard contemplated Salmoneus’ words, judged him to be truthful, and allowed passage. Just as the beggar passed through the gates, the guard immediately realised he had made a grave mistake, since the cloak was discarded and revealed the king of bones. Before he could alert anyone, his neck was snapped and his body thrown away.

Salmoneus chuckled. “Oh how sweet revenge is.”

x

Krista giggled as Nova tried to reach for a toy she had placed in front of her. The baby was just beginning to enter the early stages of toddler, but had yet to actually accomplish any of the required criteria. All she did was drool, babble, eat, cry, giggle, smile and soil her diapers. However, she remained the hope and the heart of the group. The sun was seen in Nova’s eyes and its brightness filled everyone with happiness.

The two were playing outside, as per Petra’s recommendation - Nova needed to be exposed to the outside world as much as possible, in case anything happened and she was thrown into a different routine. Ymir had come by at some point, however she had been dragged away by Nanaba, who needed her input for certain vehicle adjustments.

Krista read to Nova from one of the books she had found in the estate’s expansive library; a vast collection of humanity’s history, following volumes upon volumes that elaborated on mythology, the principles of physics, biology, chemistry, philosophy, psychology, and so on. It was only when she had descended the ladder provided for the tenth time when she spotted a little corner dedicated to books for infancy.

The book she currently had with her was about a princess who had been stolen away from her family, and there was a brave knight who would go on an epic quest to retrieve her and save the kingdom from being conquered by despair. Krista liked to pretend that she was the princess, and Ymir, the knight. She wondered to what extent Ymir would go for her - would she do as the knight did, and save her no matter what the risks entailed? It was a silly question, since this would never happen to her at this moment.

Krista lied down next to Nova, and giggled when the baby scrunched her nose when the grass tickled her cheeks. She was far too cute for her own good, and was spoiled by everyone, including Mikasa and Annie, who took turns carrying her around the courtyard and teaching her nouns and verbs. Nova usually answered with incomprehensible babbling that brought out the maternal side in both girls.

However, they were both busy with policing the parameters. Everyone was busy - Ymir with Nanaba and their vehicle problems, Petra with a sudden order to cook and clean and do the laundry, Hanji with her experiments, Erwin with investigating a recent murder… it was the perfect moment.

Krista screamed as hands covered her mouth and face. A strange substance filled her senses once a cloth was pressed to her mouth and nose, and soon she felt her limbs slacken and her eyes glance over at Nova one last time. The baby girl was screaming loudly in fear, but she too was sedated.

The blonde thought of Nova, of Nanaba, of Ymir, of everyone, and tried to struggle and resist, but it was too late. Soon, she succumbed to the terrifying helplessness that accompanied unconsciousness.

x

It was well into the afternoon when Ymir and Nanaba had permitted themselves to take a break from their work and check on their loved ones. The brunette was eager to finally see Krista again after being gone for so long - though she would never admit it - and Nanaba wanted to hold her baby again and bond with her child.

However, once they got to the courtyard where Krista and Nova had supposedly been, they found a distraught Petra pacing back in forth. Immediately, Nanaba’s mind jumped to conclusions and she hurriedly rushed to Petra to ask what was wrong.

The woman’s eyes filled with tears as she pressed a hand to her mouth and extended her other arm. A crumpled paper lay in her palm, and while Nanaba embraced Petra to comfort her, Ymir read the contents with dread sinking her stomach.

_I have what you hold most precious,_

_Your lover, a child._

_Revenge is near, your loss is certain._

_If you want to see them one last time…_

_Visit the Forest of Giants._

_-King of Bones_

Ymir trembled in fury. It had been too kind a deed to spare his life, and now he had the gall to come back and utter the word ‘revenge’? This man was no longer human, and she would not regret seeing the light fade from his eyes. Too many times Krista had convinced her that all humans had a life worth living, but some were simply worse than scum, and needed to be eliminated to keep the peace.

Krista. Krista was gone. Ymir’s happiness was slowly crumbling, and she felt the depression clog her conscious, but soon she realised it was pointless. Never had she whined and complained about something without doing it. She always got the job done, and this was no different. There was no point in dwelling in the ‘what ifs’ and ‘I should’ves’; rather, Ymir was satisfied thinking of the ways she’d snap Salmoneus’ bones and feed them to him.

Once Nanaba had released Petra and read the note, her expression darkened considerably. She shoved the paper into her pocket and turned to Ymir.

“King of bones,” Ymir started, “he’s that guy we told you about when we swapped stories. The lunatic who lived in Shiganshina.”

Nanaba nodded. “I remember.” She turned on her heel and marched towards the estate. She stopped, and looked over her shoulder. “I’m going to get my baby back,” she announced, “and I expect Ymir to come with me to retrieve Krista.”

Ymir nodded and caught up to the blonde. Petra stood, unsure of what to do, then fell to her knees as her heart clenched with worry and helplessness.

After explaining the situation to the others, Erwin approved of their trip and wished for their safe return. “Obviously, these people would have continued to terrorize others, so neutralizing them will in turn prevent other catastrophes from occurring.”

Hanji had been shocked and volunteered to go, but had been refused by Nanaba, who insisted she stay to watch over Petra. The orange-haired woman had been in a state of shock ever since her discovery and she did nothing but stare with her knees pulled to her chest. Nanaba had tried to talk her out of it, but nothing worked.

Mikasa and Annie volunteered and would not accept any excuses for them to stay, and so Nanaba had been forced to accept their help as well. They would leave as soon as their vehicle was ready and their weapons loaded.

Once the urgent meeting had been adjourned, Petra had grabbed Nanaba aside and pressed her lips to hers desperately. Nanaba returned the kiss just as passionately, but stopped them from going further.

“Petra,” Nanaba gasped, “I can’t-”

“Please let me go with you,” Petra begged, “please. The thought of Nova being gone, of Krista being gone...” Her eyes filled with tears. “I just can’t stay and wait and not do anything. I’m tired of being left behind - let me go with you.”

Nanaba’s resolve was weakened with the kiss, but she quickly fortified it when she thought of Petra being devoured by the undead. “No, I can’t. It’s too risky, and if you get hurt I’ll never forgive myself.”

Petra shook her head. “Stop worrying about me. I’m not a little girl, I’m a woman, and I’ve seen things that… that should never be seen.” She pressed her arguments, desperate to win. “I’m practically Nova’s mother, and I feel a loss so profound within my heart that I cannot imagine me not being there to help. If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to convince me?”

Nanaba took a deep breath, then faltered. She understood Petra, she really did, but it was too dangerous to allow her to tag along.

“Besides,” Petra continued airily, “who knows what will happen to me if I’m left alone while Hanji is toying with her experiments and Erwin is playing commander.”

Nanaba’s eyes hardened and she gripped Petra’s shoulders tightly. “I’m only agreeing to this because you’re right about that, not because this is a good idea.”

Petra nodded, however her gaze remained steady and firm when Nanaba met it with her own. The blonde’s harsh façade faded, and her eyes softened.

“I love you,” Nanaba murmured, leaning in for another kiss. Petra whispered her words of love as well and reciprocated the action. In those moments, Petra had become something important for Nanaba. She had become her rock, her strength and her anchor to Earth as the news of her missing daughter set her mind to chaos. Just when she’d thought she had found somewhere safe to stay, all had been sent to hell. However, this time, she had Petra to keep her steady and grounded. She had someone to aid her in her trial, and that made all the difference in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	19. Chapter 19

Nanaba hurriedly shoved spare clothing into a backpack, as well as a bottle of water and nutrition bars. Her brows were creased in worry and every so often she would bite deeply into her lip, but not hard enough to tear the skin. She’d managed to mostly keep her cool outside, but now that some time had passed and the situation had really sunken in, she was a panicked mess inside. Because of this her hands were shaking terribly and she had to remind herself not to break anything as she threw items in her room around in her haste.

The most important reason for her happiness and reason for existence had been taken from her. Nanaba didn’t know what she would do if something were to happen to her daughter or if she was taken from her. She had Petra now, that much was true, but Nanaba wasn’t sure if she would be able to come back from losing her child.

Thoughts such as those were haunting and fuelling the desperation in her movements. Anger and hatred began to coil around her heart like a poisonous snake, biting and injecting its infectious muck into her beating organ. If she didn’t get Nova back… if her child died because of her inability to save her… she… she would lose herself forever.

Nanaba wanted to clear her mind of these thoughts and be hopeful, but how could she? Her biggest fear was unfolding before her eyes. If it wasn’t for Petra – who had hurried into the room upon hearing something crash and break – Nanaba probably would have turned her entire room into a mess.

“Nanaba!” The orange-blonde clung desperately to the tall blonde and pressed her cheek to her chest. “Please, calm down.”

Nanaba breathed heavily and her chest heaved. Her arm dropped and then the bag she had been failing to fill dropped to the floor. Why was she allowing herself to fall into disarray like this?

“You’re our anchor, Nanaba. We won’t be able to do this without you.” Petra glanced up and met Nanaba’s pained eyes.

The blonde smiled ruefully. Hadn’t she been the one thinking that Petra was _her_ anchor?

“Petra…” The former soldier wrapped her shivering arms around Petra’s much smaller body. “I’m so scared that I can’t think straight.”

“I understand.”

“What if something happens to her?” Nanaba’s shoulders began to shake and painful tears poured over her silently quivering lips. “I can’t-”

Petra stopped her words with a well-placed kiss. The action put Nanaba’s panic at ease almost immediately, but it did not completely dispel it. “Take a few moments to breathe. You have all of us helping you. Ymir is determined to get Nova back too, not just Krista. So are Annie and Mikasa. Relax and trust us.”

Relax? Nanaba almost laughed. But she knew that Petra was right; panicking like this, when time was not on their side, wasn’t the smartest thing to do. Maybe being lulled into this temporary safety had also weakened Nanaba emotionally. She’d grown weak and dependent. But now that had to stop. Her daughter’s life was on the line.

Petra gently swept the salty tears away with soft kisses and then she smiled as reassuringly as possible. “Everyone is waiting for you. Are you ready?”

Nanaba nodded and wiped the tears from her face. She pulled Petra against her chest again and pressed a firm kiss just above her brow. “Petra, you know that-”

Petra covered Nanaba’s mouth with a finger. “When we get back we can talk about…” she blushed slightly and intertwined her fingers with Nanaba’s, “us… this. For now, let’s discuss the plan with everyone and then get our Nova back.” The smaller dark blonde turned and determinedly pulled her taller companion out of the room. Nanaba managed to quickly scoop the bag up from the floor, her chest swelled at Petra’s use of ‘our’ and allowed herself to be pulled out of the room and all the way down to the large dining room.

Ymir was standing by the window and clenching her hands into tight, shaking fists. Annie and Mikasa stood close to each other near the table, and when the last to join them entered the room they all turned to Nanaba and Petra and waited. They could all see the evidence of tears in Nanaba’s eyes by the redness and the slight wetness still on her skin, but no one commented. It made them grow that much sober and focus even more intently.

“Sorry for the wait,” Nanaba said. She squeezed Petra’s hand and sent the smaller woman a tiny smile. It was difficult to smile at the moment, but at least she had a reason to try. “Once we discuss the plan then we’ll leave. But first, did you all pack a bag?”

Annie, Mikasa and Ymir all nodded. The black haired girl pointed over her shoulder at the bags piled on the floor.

“Great. We can’t leave here without supplies. We don’t know what might happen out there. Now,” Nanaba released Petra’s hand and took a seat by the table, followed by everyone else. There was a large map of Sina, one that had been graciously provided by Erwin, which Nanaba pulled closer to them. Underneath the table Petra placed her warm hand atop Nanaba’s thigh, and then she added slight pressure. Nanaba didn’t outwardly react, but inside her heart did a tiny flip. “The Forest of Giants is a Casino to the north of Sina, right by the fallen gate. It was built at the edge of the city to lure passers in, or so I was told.”

“Weird thing to name a casino,” Ymir commented.

“Rumours say the guy who named it was weird too. But anyway, Erwin informed me that the area is teeming with the undead. We can’t simply run in there blind and we can’t use the car either. The more heat they sense the more trouble they will become.”

“So what will we do?” This time Mikasa spoke.

“Erwin told me that the police station close to here is still stocked up with gear and weapons. We’ll take the car there first and get riot gear and then we’ll head out of the safe zone. When we need to abandon the car we’ll put the gear on and make our way through.” As Nanaba spoke she drew the route with her finger along the map. It crossed through streets and alleyways, from their camp to the police station all the way to Forest of Giants Casino. “Once we make it to the casino we need to set up a safe house and then plan further there.” Nanaba’s eyes flashed with intense emotion.

Just like everyone else she hated having to stay idle. Since the moment they had discovered the kidnapping all of them had wanted to simply run there and burst through to the rescue. But they couldn’t, and the only way to save their loved ones was to be patient and logical. The more planning they did the better chances of success. Especially since they didn’t know what the situation at the casino would be like.

“If nothing immediate happens I’ll enter the casino alone. From there I will come up with something.”

“You can’t go in alone,” Ymir interjected. “Krista is there too. If you fuck up you’ll have her killed too! I need to be there.”

Nanaba gave Ymir a level look, and then she relented and nodded. “We’ll come up with a plan when we get there and determine the situation. For now let’s head to the station and get what we need.”

Everyone uttered soft exclamations of agreement and then they stood and headed for the car waiting outside. It was a Jeep Cherokee, sleek and black with a shine that shouldn’t have been there considering the current condition of the world. Erwin had found it on one of the properties and he had Nanaba and Ymir fix it, since it had seemed to have been broken before the apocalypse had started.

The group kept their bags close and climbed into the vehicle. Without argument, and though she wanted to sit in the front, Petra joined the other two girls at the back. Ymir took the front seat beside Nanaba. Once all the doors were shut they automatically locked when Nanaba ignited the engine, which grumbled to life smoothly thanks to the tall women’s efforts, and then they all situated their seatbelts and settled in for the ride.

Hanji opened the gate for them and quickly shut it behind them, waving like a lunatic and yelling for them to kick ass and bring the midgets home. It would have been annoying during usual circumstances, but it made everyone smile slightly and feel a little more capable of doing this.

The ride to the station didn’t take all that long, and each of them went inside to find riot gear that fit them well. When they all did they took what weapons they could, filled the trunk of the car and then settled in for the drive through the city.

XxX

Hanji watched the large vehicle slice down the street, and when it turned smoothly around a corner and disappeared completely she grinned as broadly as she could. Unlike the others, she was able to dissociate herself from the worry.

Even though her chance to be with Petra had been ruined because of Nanaba, and Hanji’s feelings had since evaporated, she admired and respected the blonde and absolutely adored her daughter. What fun other than zombies would she have if the little ray of sunshine wasn’t there to gurgle and pull Hanji’s hair? Hanji wanted to teach Nova all about the zombies the moment the little girl could understand properly.

Of course, no one knew about that and they never would. Everyone kept Hanji on a tight leash when it came to her experiments with the undead, but now they were gone.

The house was empty, Nova wasn’t there.

Hanji chuckled under her breath and hurried back to the large mansion. Except, instead of heading up the stairs and through the front doors, she detoured to the right and made her way to the back. There, underneath a large tree and confined with many, many ropes and chains, was a groaning and hissing zombie.

When it was decided that everyone would be leaving Hanji had immediately gone out to capture one. Now was finally her chance to do a few experiments that she had been dying to try.

With a new spring to her step and a large grin, Hanji freed the zombie and then she started backing away towards the back door that lead into the huge kitchen. The zombie immediately locked onto her and walked at a relatively slow pace towards her.

“Come on sweetheart, follow me.” She walked backwards, hands outstretched and beckoning the creature to follow. It did, its own hands outstretched and its remaining fingers clenching as if it already had the living human within its grasp.

Hanji made it to the door and kicked it open behind her. She entered, still walking backwards, and watched the walker follow her through the house towards the far left of the building. There she kicked another door open and then she paused by the door and waited for the thing to catch up. Hanji should have been wary or scared, but she wasn’t, and that didn’t change when the zombie’s speed changed and it lunged at the brunette with incredible speed – but Hanji was faster.

The bespectacled woman dodged to the side and grinned in amusement as the zombie missed her and instead stumbled forward and down the staircase leading down into the basement. Before following after it she glanced to either side of the hallway and then entered the room and shut the door behind her. On her trek down the stairs she flipped the light on and laughed.

“Are you okay? Looks like that fall must have hurt!” Hanji made it to the floor and walked around the groaning zombie that was crumbled on the floor.

Its decomposing body hadn’t been able to really take the fall, but it managed to still get up and wobbled closer to its prey.

Hanji smiled fondly. “So persistent. I’m impressed with your determination.” And as it lunged for her again she side-stepped, stepped up behind it and grabbed it by the wrists. Some of the skin tore off against Hanji’s fingers and she cringed, but she kept her grip and threw the struggling creature into a chair she had prepared. Immediately after, she tied its wrists and ankles to the chair and then she took a couple of steps back to admire her work.

“Comfy, isn’t it? Don’t worry, I made sure that the cushion would be soft enough not to hurt after a while.”

The zombie released pants and gargled noises of desperation. It struggled at its bindings and probably would be able to tear through if the skin and flesh ripped apart thanks to the decomposition. Its eyes were as milky white as Hanji remembered. She took a moment to lean in close to get a good look, something she hadn’t been able to do until then, and then she laughed and jumped back when bloody jaws snapped forward in an attempt to bite her face.

“Don’t be so hasty! We have all the time in the world, or maybe just a bit of time until they get home…” The last part Hanji muttered under her breath, but then she waved it off and turned back to the zombie with a smile. “So tell me, what’s your name?” She knelt down by it and placed her hands atop both of its knees.

The pants were once savvy Levi jeans, dark blue and fashionably ripped at the knees. Now they were quite literally ripped all over. The skin underneath was sickly blue, peeling away or simply fading. The shirt was long sleeved, soft to the touch even though it was crusted with blood and other unidentifiable substances. Bits of flesh stuck to the fabric too but Hanji ignored it.

“Can you do that for me? Can you tell me your name?”

The zombie paused and leaned back in the chair. For a moment it was almost as if it was considering Hanji’s request, which made the brunette bite her lip and supress a squeal of excitement. But then it groaned unnaturally and shot forward to snap at Hanji’s face again.

Hanji didn’t move an inch and the zombie’s jaws snapped inches from her face. She didn’t blink either, but her nose scrunched up when the odour from the thing’s mouth invaded her nostrils. It was only when she could no longer take the dead stench that Hanji stood and started pacing around the undead creature.

“Is the person you once were completely gone?” Hanji was asking it as much as herself. “Did your consciousness cease to exist the moment your heart stopped? Does this virus, whatever it is, completely control your brain?” She started to nibble on her lip and continued to walk around the zombie. Its eyes followed her avidly, its jaws snapping and hands twitching. “Could it be that this virus assumes control of its host, eats away at its living cells and then moves on to the next?” She scuffed her shoes on the hard concrete floor. “Does that mean that eventually all brain and muscle tissue will have decomposed and you will eventually cease to move?”

It was a theory Hanji had been working on. Since it was obvious that the zombies were walking decomposing corpses, they had to run out of tissue eventually. It was doubtful that their bones would continue to live when everything else had died away. Therefore, was it possible that over a period of time all zombies would simply decompose completely? The issue with that would then be if the virus would permeate the air and water. Animals? What if the virus began to attack animals and therefore find its way back to humans? What fed the virus? What killed it?

Was it even a virus?

Hanji could think of nothing else that could cause a dead body to reanimate or attack anything with a heartbeat.

“What are you doing?”

Hanji whirled around and yelled in alarm. For all the surprise attacks from the zombie, the sudden appearance of Erwin shouldn’t have startled her so much. But she had been deep in thought, enough to stop pacing and simply stand there with her fingers tucked underneath her chin and a concentrated crease in her brows.

“E-Erwin!” Hanji glanced between Erwin and the zombie with a panicked look on her face. “It… he… I…”

Erwin stood by the foot of the stairs, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. One of his handsome eyebrows lifted, his eyes dashed to the squirming creature, and then they returned to study Hanji’s face for so long that the brunette started to squirm as well.

“Here,” Erwin finally broke his intense stare and stepped forward to hand a walky-talky to the gaping brunette. “I came here to give this to you. Petra has the other one. If anything goes wrong she will contact you with this. I can’t keep it because I’m going to the south gate. Can I trust you?” Erwin looked over Hanji’s shoulder at the zombie again but his expression was as serious as ever.

Hanji’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “S-sure…”

“Good.” The man turned on his heels and started for the stairs but paused before taking them. “Oh and please make sure to dispose of that and clean up after it before the rest get back.” Erwin gave Hanji a clearly stern look, but then he smirked lightly and turned to face the stairs again. “As long as there is no evidence no one needs to know. But I trust that you’ll find some _interesting_ facts while you break the rules.” And then he carried himself proudly up the stairs and disappeared through the door, back to whatever he had been busy with up until now.

Hanji still stared at the door long after the man had disappeared, and then she released a breath and turned around. “Well, as long as Erwin is okay with it…” She approached the whining zombie and put a hand to her hip. “Sorry for that. Someone took something precious from us and most of my group went to kick his ass.” Hanji rounded the zombie and then placed her hands onto its shoulders. It leaned to the side and tried to snap at her hands, but she ignored it. “I just hope that they take their time…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	20. Chapter 20

Krista moaned and blinked her way into consciousness, feeling the aftereffects of chloroform clogging up her senses. She shifted a bit in her spot, wondering what was going on and why she was moving without actually moving, then gasped, sitting up. She recalled being held back and knocked out, and Nova as well, but she didn’t know who did this to her or for what possible reason.

She inhaled deeply to calm down and noticed a familiar scent. It had a musky aspect to it, and reminded her of being embraced by Ymir…

Krista bit her lip to suppress her sobs, still blinking the sleep away now being drenched by tears, and moved her arms a bit to find their movement restrained as well. She noted the rope tying her wrists and ankles together, as well as their strength. Suddenly feeling hopeless, she looked up at the ceiling of the car and sniffed. Despair clouded her mind, and she started to hyperventilate as she realized there was no way out. Ymir couldn’t save her, Mikasa and Annie couldn’t save her, no one would save her, and she was too weak to save herself.

She felt a pressure against her side that she only became aware of after fully waking up, and glanced to the side. Her eyes widened. Krista held her breath, and when she saw the baby’s chest rise and fall with her breath, she nearly cried in relief. Nova! Nova was okay, Nova was beside her and in perfect health. Thank goodness, thank goodness these monsters had enough humanity in them to spare a defenceless child.

Suddenly feeling courage brewing in her, Krista made it her sole duty and responsibility to keep Nova safe, even at the expense of her own life. Nova wouldn’t be harmed at all under her care, and she’d make sure that she would be returned safely to Nanaba’s care. Just as she had restored hope to both Hanji and Petra’s broken hearts, Nova had done the same to Krista. Her hope soared like butterflies on a warm spring afternoon.

The blonde cuddled close to the baby and closed her eyes. Once she gathered her courage, she opened them and glanced around the car. She realized then why the scent was so familiar - underneath the driver’s seat, there were porn magazines suited to Ymir’s taste stashed messily. Whoever took Krista and Nova had taken Ymir’s car, therefore they had been in Shiganshina and had left after they had escaped the King of Bones’ clutches.

Krista’s eyes widened in sudden realization - she turned her head to the front and caught Salmoneus’ evil grin before he chuckled and pressed a cloth to her mouth again. She struggled in vain, but her eyelids drooped and the substance once more caused her to black out.

“Go back to sleep.”

x

The car bumped and bustled along the route, which forced Krista awake as she soared through the air before crashing back down on her seat. Thankfully, Nova had remained nestled against the seat and no harm had come to her. Her chest heaved and she turned her head to see Salmoneus yelling curses and a woman - who had been driving for the last few hours - arguing with him.

“Why did you plough straight through the city, Jezebel? That wasn’t how we planned it!” Salmoneus shouted.

“I did my best to get us out of the area before we could be caught. Circling the circumference of the city was not on my list of priorities, my Lord.”

“It should’ve been!” Salmoneus snapped furiously, “it should’ve been! Now we’re stuck dealing with rebels killing each other and skinners chasing our tails.”

Jezebel tightened her grip on the wheel and turned a corner sharply. The tires screeched but complied, and Krista held on to her weight, hoping she wouldn’t fly out of the car. She huddled against Nova and curled up tightly close to the baby to protect her as well. Krista couldn’t see what was going on outside of the car, but judging by the screams and gunshots, she knew it was a catastrophe.

Krista thought they had been done with this. She thought they had finally found their happy ending, and would never have to deal with this sort of terror ever again. Why did bad things always happen to them? Were they trouble magnets? Were they dealt the worst hand, or was this simply how it was meant to be - a life full of struggles and pain? Krista knew not what governed their destiny, or what sort of luck she had, but she dearly hoped she would survive this trial.

“Stop the car.”

Krista gasped and turned to the front, watching as Salmoneus crossed his arms and spat his order. Jezebel immediately hit the brakes and kept her face stone cold as she awaited his next command. Salmoneus drummed his fingers against his arm and did not flinch when a body was flung at the windshield and slid down, blood staining the glass. Krista could not close her eyes because of the terror that froze her cognitive functions. The King of Bones simply reached over and activated the windshield wipers.

“Clear the area,” he ordered quietly. A turret of noise exploded from up ahead, and Jezebel kicked her door open to meet it. Krista watched, mesmerized, as the woman weaved in and out of the conflicts, slitting throats and abdomens. She watched as men and women alike gurgled their last breath, and some clench their gut before it spilled out in front of them. She felt a sudden urge to vomit, but held it down when Salmoneus turned to her with a grin.

“Beautiful, isn’t she? My brightest subordinate.”

Krista couldn’t do anything but nod, so she did, and Salmoneus grinned even wider in pride. The man sighed and watched with soft eyes, as though Jezebel were performing just for him. Once the massacre of the rebels was accomplished, the woman then proceeded to decapitate all of the remaining undead. She wiped her blade with a cloth and wrenched the driver’s side door open. The assassin plopped down in her seat, reeking of blood, and was greeted by a sudden wail from Nova.

Krista bit her lip and urged Nova to keep quiet, trying to rock the baby and humming but to no avail. The stench of blood permeated the air and made Krista scrunch her nose in disgust, really close to vomiting. Jezebel remained stoic, igniting the engine and resuming their trip, but Salmoneus was unforgiving.

“Shut her up before I shoot a bullet through her fragile little head,” he growled. Krista swallowed her fear and turned her head to meet his merciless eyes.

“I can’t do anything while bound,” she shot back, “so untie me and I’ll keep her quiet.”

Salmoneus contemplated it for a bit, then nodded slowly. He reached over his seat and cut off the rope, to which the blonde internally sighed in relief, but then he pressed the barrel of a handgun he carried to the blonde’s temple. Krista shuddered at the cold seeping into her scalp from the gun.

“Just remember to think twice,” he warned ominously. Krista nodded slowly, and, imitating Ymir, adopted a blank expression.

Krista held Nova in her arms and rocked her back in forth, pressing the baby tightly against her breasts. Nova seemed content in her arms, and the power of her cries diminished slightly, but not completely. She only stopped crying once Krista sang a lullaby she’d heard Sasha’s mom sing once. The memory of her close friend brought her to tears, but she continued on.

_Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high_   
_There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby_   
_Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue_   
_And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true_

Salmoneus’ eyes glazed over as a memory of a young boy dressed in a sailor suit, similar to his father, invaded his conscious. A soft voice sang in sweet tones, soothing the boy’s heart once his father left on a trip overseas to free his nation. The father never returned.

“She’s hungry, we need to get her food.”

The King of Bones shook his head to return to the present, and raised an eyebrow at the blonde’s strong-willed demand. When did she acquire such courage in just three measly weeks? Her stare penetrated him, since she had turned her head to look him directly in the eyes. His gun was pressed against the centre of her forehead.

Salmoneus retreated and stared ahead, watching the homes and buildings pass by. There were virtually no skinners lurking about, however there were plenty of humans peeking from behind blinds and curtains, peepholes and the cracks of opened doors. Human nature’s curiosity was always renowned for being tied with recklessness.

“Fine,” Salmoneus declared, “but only because I cannot stand the stench of that vile being. You will change her clothing and feed her, but that is all. If you attempt anything that I do not approve of, it will be incredibly easy to silence her. Do you understand?”

Krista nodded once and returned to rocking Nova, who had fallen asleep in the blonde’s arms. Salmoneus pointed at a deserted market and ordered Jezebel to stop by there. Once parked, Krista exited the car and bit her lip when Salmoneus exited as well and followed her, gun aimed at Nova. Jezebel watched them with mild interest.

They passed by rotting groceries and soiled meat, finally reaching the baby aisles. Krista changed the baby’s diaper and Salmoneus pulled a face before turning away, commenting on the odour and tapping his foot impatiently. Krista grabbed a handful of diapers, along with glass containers of purée for Nova, and walked back to the car without a struggle.

Slightly impressed by her obedience, Salmoneus stepped into the car just as Krista slammed her door shut and threw his gun on the dashboard.

“For your good behaviour,” he started, relaxing into his seat as Jezebel started the engine, “I’ll allow you to remain unbound for the duration of this trip. However, you know the consequences if you do not obey. Those diapers and food will have to be disposed along with the body.”

Krista swallowed nervously and released a shaky breath. She nodded and spoon fed the mush to the toddler, smiling when she gurgled happily and clapped her hands. Nova complied without a fight, and joyfully ate her meal with a wide, toothless grin. Krista gigged and hugged Nova to her chest when she was finished.

However, it was then that Nova realized something.

Daddy wasn’t here.

Nova erupted once more into sobbing and wailing. Her fists trembled and her face reddened with the force of her cries, and her mouth was wide open while her eyes were clenched shut. Salmoneus angrily grabbed his gun and shot a bullet.

Krista gasped and clutched a suddenly quiet Nova to her chest.

The bullet had gone through the roof.

“Another warning, if you will,” Salmoneus seethed. He calmed down just as Nova did and resumed staring out at the landscape. The chaos pleased him greatly and lifted his mood. A compliment escaped his lips for the first time in a while.

“A precocious child, isn’t she?” he sighed.

x

Erwin rubbed the bridge of his nose in the vain hope that it would assuage his stress, but between the infection spreading rapidly through the eastern half of Sina and the rise of violence, it was an impossible task. He had given orders several days ago to seal off the infected portion, and though it had been accomplished hastily, they still had troubles with special cases escaping and the rebels damaging the barriers in an attempt to scare the surviving population.

No cars could pass by the area, and no one was permitted in or out of the zone. The undead streamed steadily past the north gate of the city, however they could not enter beyond the closed off portion. Weaknesses along the barrier, such as malformed or short walls, allowed infected humans and complete zombies alike to cross over into the other zone. This then prompted the rebels to fight against them, however with ammunition rapidly declining, hundreds had perished.

Erwin had tried his hardest to secure the parameters, but nothing was working. The zombies were pouring in through the holes and the men who had volunteered to fight them off were almost all eliminated.

The only way he could possibly find a way to destroy the undead would be to learn more about their behaviour and use that knowledge to fight them. Ergo, allowing Hanji to continue her experiments was his only bet at keeping the remaining survivors alive. He was extremely glad that the bespectacled woman had survived the ordeal. Erwin figured that the woman would refuse death until she learned all that she possibly could about the walking dead.

Erwin exhaled deeply through his nose as he observed the scene in front of him. He stood atop a house, overlooking the neighbourhood and industrial area closed off by the barrier. There were fires and smoke spreading across, and gunshots were frequently heard. Screams were common, and filled the background with noise.

On the other side of the wall, there was relative peace. A few rebels argued here and there, and some gunshots were heard - gunshots from his men who were ordered to secure whatever area they could - but this was only peace disguised as chaos. Public services no longer functioned, a martial law was in place that advised all residents to stay in their homes, and bodies littered the streets. Erwin had no idea to what extent the infection had spread, but he tried his best to secure the zone where Hanji stayed, in order to keep her experiments going and a solution to their problem alive.

“Sir, your escort is here,” a man announced beside him. Erwin glanced at the man and nodded. He turned on his heel and entered the car waiting him. The group drove off and Erwin watched through the tinted windows the disaster that Sina had become. In just three weeks everything had escalated from being a minor breach to a full-out war. There had to be someplace else where all the remaining survivors could be evacuated. There had to be.

Erwin was deep in his thoughts when the driver shook his shoulder, finally arriving at their destination. Erwin shook his head and thanked the man, stepping out of the car. The soldiers followed him around as he inspected Sina’s main wall. He had heard that, recently, one part of the walls seemed to be shaky, which confused Erwin greatly. How could these walls possibly be shaky? Weird rumours spread hotly through the barracks, so the man had decided to inspect them himself to confirm the fact that these walls would not be crumbling anytime soon.

Erwin slid his hand along the wall, pushing and prodding but not finding any anomalies whatsoever. Finally, he pressed his ear to the wall and his eyes widened as he paled. Both palms pressed flat against the wall, he shouted until his voice became hoarse.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! GO AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN!”

The soldiers were startled and attempted to talk to the man, but Erwin would have none of it. He repeated his orders firmly and every living being was evacuated from the area. The blonde man pressed his ear desperately against the wall again, trying to hear the beeping he had heard before.

On the other side of the wall, there was a bomb strapped to the stone, a clock ticking its last seconds before it would detonate. The undead groaned and stumbled in the vicinity. Erwin knew then that they were royally fucked.

He ran with all his strength and ignored the pressing need for air in order to get as far away as possible. With relief, he noticed no one else near, and pumped his legs faster.

He turned his head as he heard a loud explosion and his face met a block of concrete. Completely exhausted, drained and in pain, Erwin could do nothing but watch as that part of the wall crumbled and a stream of undead dragged their feet into the once-safe land of Sina.

x

Nanaba kept her expression as calm as she could while a storm tore her heart apart from the inside. Her emotions were barely being held within the metaphorical bottle, and the cap was close to shooting off if anything dared to interfere with her mission of rescuing her baby. Krista as well, since the blonde too held a special place in her heart, but her maternal instincts won out over any other emotion. Besides, Krista had people who cared for her and would do anything to bring her back, so she was alright.

She could only hope Krista and Nova were safe by the time she reached the casino. If she could ask for anything, it would be to hold her baby in her arms again.

Nanaba grit her teeth and blinked back the tears. Now was not the time to cry - now was the time to pull it together and be a leader for these girls. Now was the time to pull out Nanaba the ruthless soldier, the renowned war veteran who commanded an entire regiment and forced the white flag of the opposing team.

The blonde woman tightened her grip on the steering wheel and steeled her resolve. She failed to notice the critical look Ymir gave her, who had been watching her shift through emotions. The brunette was going through her own set of worries and predictions, however she managed to keep herself calm enough to think straight.

Krista was safe, that much she was sure of.

Ymir knew that Salmoneus held a grudge between them, therefore she knew that all he wanted was to see her dead and to crush her spirit, hence taking Krista. Ymir drummed her fingers in thought, knowing she’d have to make sacrifices to save what was most precious to her. What if she led Salmoneus to believe that Krista meant nothing to her at all? How would he react to that? More importantly, would Krista play along?

Ymir felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Petra with a worried expression. The woman glanced at Nanaba, who had been driving ever since they left the estate, and turned her eyes back to Ymir. On her left, Mikasa and Annie leaned against each other, lost in thought and desperately hoping for their loved ones’ safety.

“Ymir,” Petra whispered, sure that Nanaba could not hear her. The veteran was in fact too concentrated on the road to focus on anything else. “I need you to drive for Nanaba. She’s been doing this for too long - she’ll wear herself out!”

Ymir shook her head. “I’m not doing anything, especially when she’s like this,” Ymir snorted, “and besides, this is her baby - she’s gonna do anything she can to get her back as soon as possible. If it means driving until she can’t see anymore, then she’ll do it.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Petra sighed, “she’s going to do her best to catch up to the kidnappers and completely forget about herself. How is she supposed to save Nova if she’s dead on her feet?”

Ymir sighed and shrugged. “Listen, Petra - you’ve known her longer than I have, you know her better than all of us. If Krista was in your shoes, and I was the one driving to save our kid,” Ymir blushed slightly at the concept, but pressed on, “then Krista would understand my need to do what I feel is right. She’d wait until I ask for help.”

Petra stayed quiet after that, deep in thought. Ymir scratched the back of her head but shrugged again and returned to staring out the window. Petra wondered if Nanaba would ask her for help if it ever came down to it. They loved each other, that much was certain, but to what extent did Nanaba trust her? This was her baby, her reason for living - this wasn’t something that Nanaba could easily ask someone to help her with, especially if she was determined to do things her way.

Petra loved Nova as though she were her own child, and though she would go to the ends of the Earth to retrieve her if it ever came down to it, she would be sure to ask for help from Nanaba. The woman sighed and remained deep in her thoughts the longer the blonde in the front drove.

One side, Nanaba’s side, had a direct view of the wall, and the other faced the back of houses and such. They had long since passed the police station a couple of hours into their drive, and it was fast approaching night. They would need to rest and recover before continuing. Assuming that Salmoneus would be doing the same as well - it would be an incredibly stupid move to proceed in the dark - then they weren’t losing any time or distance. Only their peace of mind would be compromised for a couple of hours of recovery.

Nanaba braked suddenly, sending the occupants of the Jeep catapulting forward but luckily being saved by their seatbelts. Before Ymir could curse Nanaba and all her ancestors using every swear word she knew, the woman pointed forward at the raging fire in the distance.

“That’s not an ordinary fire,” Nanaba explained, glancing up when Annie peeked over her shoulder, “that’s a controlled fire. Something is going on, and I’m not too sure what it is, so we have to be careful.”

Mikasa nodded. “I have this side covered.” She rolled down the window and leaned out, her gun ready to aim at any possible threats. Luckily, this particular brand of Jeep had a sunroof, so Annie quickly opened it and positioned herself to fire should a need arise. Ymir leaned out of her window once it was rolled down, and Petra kept a strict lookout for any dangers from behind or the sides.

Nanaba smirked despite herself, releasing the brakes and starting the gas. “Guess we’re ready to roll.” The smell of burnt rubber trailed behind them as Nanaba sped down the road. Petra watched as the fire grew closer and larger, and observed with a strange sense of foreboding the figures dancing around the flames. They seemed to be chanting something and throwing what appeared to be logs into the fire. However, the smell seemed to disagree with her observations.

Petra rolled down her window and vomited out the side when she got a closer look. Those were not logs, they were bodies. Nanaba looked back worriedly for a brief second but re-focused her vision out onto the road.

“Shit,” Ymir muttered, “got a damn pack of tribal fanatics. I thought we were done with these types of lunatics.”

“They exist everywhere, Ymir,” Nanaba sighed, “and the worst part is we don’t even know if they carry guns with them.” A sudden gun shot from ahead answered Nanaba.

“Goddamn,” both women in the front grumbled. Ymir snickered and steadied her hand. Mikasa tensed and Annie held her breath. Petra shut her eyes and Nanaba narrowed hers.

A sudden explosion from far away sent shockwaves through the Earth, and threw Nanaba off-balance. The vehicle spiralling out of control, the women were jostled around before Nanaba set the vehicle straight. Petra looked back, suddenly worrying for Hanji and Erwin.

Elsewhere, somewhere in a secure home near the North gate, Salmoneus laughed evilly as he too felt the shockwaves. Krista cuddled with Nova to comfort the baby and herself, while Jezebel played with her knife, staring down at the man she had recently killed.

“This world will rot,” the King of Bones promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	21. Chapter 21

Everyone remained quiet and Nanaba continued to drive. They had just entered a wave of zombies a few moments after the earth shook underneath them. It was obvious that something terrible had just happened, and each of them had a worried frown adorning their faces. No one voiced their worries, however, as they were all still trying to imagine what could have possibly happened.

“It was an explosion,” Nanaba finally voiced seriously. She focused intently on avoiding the mass of walking bodies and continuously darted her eyes about.

“Wh-what? An explosion?” Petra scooted closer and placed a hand on Nanaba’s shoulder. She felt the blonde woman shaking.

“I recognize the sound. Someone must have planted a bomb. I’m guessing the wall.” Nanaba paused and cocked her head to the side. “In the south.”

Ymir glanced over at Nanaba with a frown. “Someone bombed the south wall?”

“The gate,” Mikasa corrected. “That’s the only logical explanation.”

They fell into silence again.

“It must be him.” Nanaba grit her teeth hard and Petra worriedly watched the muscles in her jaw bunch up with tension.

The silence after that was drowning. The seriousness dawned on them all, much more than it had at this point. Salmoneus had just proved how serious he was about this, and though they didn’t have concrete evidence that it was indeed him, the fact that coincidences didn’t happen this perfectly was a deciding factor. If not him, then who? Salmoneus obvious planned to take everyone down with him, and the thought made Nanaba tremble with anger.

If the south gate had truly been destroyed then masses of the undead should have invaded the safe zones already by now. Their home, the estate… what would happen to it? What would happen to Hanji? If they survived this ordeal and managed to save their loved ones, where would they be able to go from there?

“It’s getting too dark to see,” Nanaba said. “We need to find somewhere to rest for the night.” She absolutely hated having to say that. More than anything she wanted to ride on and get to the casino within the hour, but navigating through the pitch black would only get them killed. If they really wanted to succeed here they had to use their minds and not their hearts. But at this point Nanaba might have already started to lose touch of her mind.

“There’s a house over there, we can stop and rest there for the night.” Ymir pointed in front of them and nodded when Nanaba muttered an agreement.

The blonde woman made sure to avoid the undead as she directed the car towards the house Ymir had indicated. It was dark, which meant that there weren’t any inhabitants – or at least, they hoped so.

There was a palisade gate surrounding the property, so Ymir had to jump out of the vehicle and rip the gate open for Nanaba to drive the car in. When the car was inside Ymir made quick work of closing and securing the gate, smashing the butt of her gun into a few of the dead’s heads when she had no choice. By the time the others had climbed out of the car Ymir was still panting and her heart had yet to calm. She felt better, actually. Beating those zombies had relieved some of the pent up anger she felt.

“Annie, Mikasa, go and secure the inside. Ymir and I will walk the perimeter of the house. If anything happens fire a shot and we’ll come running.” Everyone nodded at their orders and went to work, except for Petra who tugged on Nanaba’s shirt to stop her from walking away.

“What about me? You didn’t give me anything to do.”

“That’s because I want you to stay in the car and wait for us to come and get you.”

“But-”

Nanaba leaned down and swallowed Petra’s words with a tender kiss. The look in her eyes softened slightly when she pulled back to gaze down at the smaller woman. “I know.  You want to help, but you aren’t capable. If anything you’ll only put us all in danger with our worry for you. Just please, stay here and wait.” Nanaba kissed her again to ease her frown. “I promise that after this you can scold me as much as you want.”

Petra couldn’t help but sigh and nod. “Fine, but only because you asked so nicely.”

Nanaba smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Lock the doors and wait. Hoot if anything happens.”

“Come on, it’s getting darker!” Ymir was already rounding the side of the house and gestured up at the sky with exaggeration. Petra climbed into the car and locked all the doors and Nanaba jogged to catch up to Ymir.

They gripped their guns tightly in their hands and strained their eyes to see in front of them. “Listen closely.” Nanaba warned.

“I think I see something up ahead.”

Nanaba paused, as well as Ymir, and they strained hard to see in the distance. Sure enough a figure scuffled around. There didn’t seem to be any damages to the surrounding gate so the two of them surmised this zombie had either been an earlier occupant of the house or one that had simply wondered in at some point.

Nanaba took a soft step forward in approach but Ymir clamped a hand over her hand.

“Nanaba, I have an idea.” Ymir received a questioning gaze. “Earlier when I took those things out by the gate I… I felt this weight of anger leave my chest.” Ymir’s grip tightened almost painfully.

“Are you suggesting that we take our anger out on it?”

“Of course I am.”

Nanaba pulled out of Ymir’s grip. “No. We are not animals. Avoid it for now. Let’s first make sure there are no others.”

The zombie was already aware of the two humans within its vicinity. It was starting to shuffle closer and groan eerily. The duo avoided it as Nanaba had ordered and rounded the house. When they made it back to the car Nanaba told Ymir to wait with Petra.

“I’ll go and take the stray one out. Get in the car if you want.”

Ymir snorted. “I can handle myself.” She eyed Nanaba suspiciously but the blonde couldn’t see it due to the dark.

Nanaba nodded once and then ventured off towards where they had left the zombie to stumble. It had walked to the other end of the yard, still gargling grossly and shuffling its heavy feet. The blonde approached it with caution, but then all of a sudden the lights of the house switched on and Nanaba was temporarily blinded. In her moment of confusion the zombie had somehow managed to hurry its way towards her and she only managed to lift her gun in time to catch its bite. The zombie bit down so hard that its teeth sunk into the weapon. Nanaba stumbled back and cursed under her breath.

“Shit.”

She struggled with it and attempted to regain control of her weapon but the creature wasn’t letting up and she was forced to let it go. The moment she did the gun dropped to the floor and then the zombie leapt at her. Nanaba caught its face in her hands and stumbled back all the way until she was pressed up against the side of the house. She grunted and cursed, trying her best to keep the ever increasing jaws of the dead away from her living flesh.

Adrenalin coursed through Nanaba’s veins like a wildfire and suddenly she had the upper hand. She shoved the rotting corpse off of her. The zombie groaned and stumbled back and then it tipped over and fell onto its back. Nanaba then climbed onto it, and with red fogging her vision, began to punch the thing in the face. Hit after hit the zombie groaned. Whether in pain or confusion, it was unsure. The thing couldn’t comprehend the situation and was victim to Nanaba’s vicious assault.

Part of the jaw cracked and broke off and the thing’s tongue lolled out of the side of its mouth. Nanaba grabbed the organ and ripped it out. The zombie convulsed and started to claw at Nanaba’s chest, scratching against the fabric of her t-shirt. But she couldn’t feel it. Nanaba grunted softly with each exertion and barely noticed when the zombie ceased to move and her fists cracked through the skull. It was only when strong arms circled her chest and ripped her backwards that she snapped out of it, flailing in panic.

“Calm the fuck down!” Ymir yelled. “It’s just me!” She dropped Nanaba onto the ground and stumbled back a few paces herself. For some reason Ymir was breathing heavily too, and now her clothes and hands were soiled. “What the fuck was that?”

Nanaba’s chest heaved with heavy breaths, her eyes were wild and she looked dumbfounded for a second. Slowly the attack trickled into her consciousness and her eyes widened further. The mess of a zombie lay at her feet and she physically cringed at the sight.

Blood, bone and messes of flesh lay spewn across the ground. Even on Nanaba’s hands there were clots of thick slimy mucus, bits of flesh and substances unknown. The blonde stared at her filthy hands and noticed her clothes were in the same disarray, except they were drenched in blood. Her face was speckled with the stuff, and so was her hair.

Slowly the former veteran climbed onto her shaking feet and faced Ymir with a stony expression. “I lost control,” she said. “Please don’t tell the others.”

Ymir gave Nanaba a long look but then whistled softly. “Jesus, I’ve never seen someone break bones with their fists before. I’m actually impressed.” She too cringed down at her gory appearance and hoped that the shower inside at least had hot water.

“Their bones are decomposing too, so it isn’t a surprise. I didn’t expect to go that crazy though.” Nanaba sighed deeply and rubbed at her forehead, forgetting about the zombie sludge coating it and feeling the slime cover her skin. She sighed again. “Is the place secure?”

“Mikasa and Annie found a back-up generator. Petra is inside now. The place is safe but I think we should do something to make it safer out here.” She glanced at the mess on the floor. “And clean that up before the others see it.”

“You’re right.” Nanaba regained her normal self, relived to feel that consuming anger and the intoxicating adrenalin had faded. What Ymir had said earlier had been true, it did certainly take a lot of the painful emotions away.

The two of them first disposed of the broken corpse by tossing it over the gate, and then they made their way into the house. They made sure not to track any blood on the clean floor and when Petra bounded into the hallway at the sound of their return she dropped the utensil she had in her hand and lifted her hands to her lips.

“What happened?”

Nanaba grinned sheepishly and waved off the concern. “Nothing serious. We’re both alright. Does the shower work?”

Petra seemed too stunned to talk but she eventually regained her wits and nodded. “Yeah, luckily there are two bathrooms. One on the bottom floor and the other one at the top. I was just making dinner, since there is still edible food in the house.”

Nanaba smiled in appreciation and headed up the stairs. She would have stopped to kiss Petra on the forehead, a silent apology for having to hide the truth from her, but in her current state she would have to postpone that for later.

Ymir did the same and went into the lower floor bathroom. Half an hour later both of them were out and clean, but a haunted look covered their faces.

Showers could do wonders to clean the body, but it could also clear the mind.

Petra was at the kitchen table with Mikasa and Annie and they were all leaning forward. The atmosphere was serious and Nanaba wondered what was going on.

“Did something happen?” she asked as she entered the room with Ymir behind her. The brunette took a seat opposite Mikasa and slunk down into the chair. She looked pained, like something had just left her and now she was trying to figure out how to get it back. That was probably true, since while she had been in the shower images of Krista had flooded her mind. There were so many good memories of tender kisses and shy touches. She remembered every word the blonde had lovingly whispered to her, and her heart sank when she realized how much she missed the smaller girl. She wanted to get to the casino as quickly as possible and having to wait was killing her.

“No but we’re trying to contact Hanji. She answered just a moment ago and told us to wait.” Petra pointed down at the device lying on the table.

“She didn’t sound upset though, just hurried.”

“We should ask her what happened,” Mikasa suggested.

“And if everyone is okay,” Annie added. She was seated in the black haired girl’s lap, not caring if anyone looked at them. The status of their relationship had been announced a while back and they were comfortable with showing affection in front of the people they trusted. Of course, they never showed anything flashy. The most was a peck on the lips, and even that happened rarely in front of others.

“Petra, you still there?” Hanji’s voice crackled over the walky-talky and the others straightened at the sound.

“Hanji, yes! We need to ask you something.”

“Actually I was about ready to contact you first. We sort of have a big problem here.”

“What happened?” This Nanaba asked. She leaned over Petra’s shoulder and pressed lightly into her. The orange-blonde could smell Nanaba’s scent and she blushed at how the smell made her tingle and quickly shook her head to clear it.

“The south gate was destroyed. Someone strapped a bomb to it. Erwin was at the site but he escaped only with a concussion. Luckily his men managed to bring him back here and I’m tending to him as well as other people. Guys,” Hanji paused and the tension grew. “It’s getting bad over here. So many are pouring in that they’ve made it here, to the east. Erwin says that we have to find a way to get out of the city. We’re all like trapped cattle.”

Everyone sucked in deep breaths and shared worried looks. Was it really that bad, that they couldn’t even return to the estate? Where could they possibly go after this?

Nanaba straightened. “We’ll consider this later. For now we need to focus on getting Nova and Krista back.”

Ymir finally animated and joined the conversation. She and Nanaba shared a mutually fierce look. “When we get them back and I have that bastard’s head on a pole then we can figure out what to do. I agree with Nanaba. We have more important things to worry about right now.”

Hanji, who had been intently listening to the two talking, chuckled despite the tension. “There is nothing you can do anyway. The north is already overrun. People over here are panicking and wars are breaking out again. I definitely suggest that you stay there and get your girls back.”

“We’ll let you know if anything happens. Could you update us on the situation if anything changes?”

“Of course, Mikasa. For a moment I forgot you both were there.”

“We like to be quiet,” Annie said.

Hanji laughed. “That’s not what I hear late at night!”

The two girls immediately blushed and acted like what Hanji had said was ridiculous, but Ymir managed to send a grin over to them. Oh she knew what Hanji meant, she _definitely_ knew.

“W-well there’s no time to discuss unimportant things. We have to settle in here.” Mikasa stood and placed Annie gently down onto her feet. “We’ll be taking the bedroom beside the bathroom. I trust that you,” she looked steadily at Ymir, “and Nanaba will secure outside before going to bed. If anything happens you can fetch us.” She intertwined her fingers with Annie’s and pulled her unimpressed girlfriend out of the room with her.

“But dinner is almost ready.” Petra frowned like a mother hen and prepared to go after them, but Nanaba sighed and kept her seated.

“Let them cool down.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Hanji, are you still there?”

“Yup!”

“Good. I might have a plan on how to get out of the city. For now stay alive. We _will_ get Nova and Krista back and then I’ll discuss a strategy with you. Will you let Erwin know?”

Hanji saluted on her end even though no one could see her, but Erwin could and he sighed. “Of course! Good luck and stay alive too!” The small radio device crackled for a moment and then went silent.

Petra laced her fingers between Nanaba’s and leaned up to kiss her throat. “We’ll save them, don’t worry.”

Ymir looked away at the display of love and felt her heart clench painfully. She bit into her lip until the physical pain eased the emotional kind.

“Anyway, food is ready! Ymir, can you take Mikasa and Annie their share?”

The brunette’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Sure, Petra.”

Petra went to work on plating the food and then Ymir did as she had been asked. A scream could be heard a few minutes later, and then Ymir’s loud laugh and the slam of a door. When she returned to the kitchen she silently sat down by the table and ignored Nanaba’s lifted eyebrow.

“We should leave the moment there is enough light,” Ymir said suddenly. She looked up and met Nanaba’s blue eyes. “I don’t know about you, but I’m eager to get this hell over with.”

Nanaba couldn’t agree more.

XxX

After eating and sharing idle conversation with the couple Ymir decided to have an early night. She had barely been able to eat, because despite her earlier shenanigans she felt worse than she ever had, even before the apocalypse. It took everything she had not to fall into a pit of despair. It was only the firm belief she had that Krista would be alright that kept her going on. She knew that Krista wouldn’t give up, especially if Nova’s safety was at stake.

Another emotion strangling her was useless guilt, and that in itself added to her degrading mood. Because they hadn’t killed the bastard when they should have Nanaba was dragged into this mess. Logically Ymir knew that this was in no way her fault. How could it have been? She had not instigated this mess or taken Nova. Salmoneus had done that all on his own. But the heart tended to feel that which was illogical. Her heart was hurting, not just for herself but for someone she considered a companion.

The brunette had chosen a room on the second floor right at the end of the hall. Everyone else was sleeping downstairs. Despite the overwhelming loneliness she wanted to be alone. No one understood her like Krista did, not even Nanaba, and that made her feel isolated.

Perhaps she had relied on the blonde too much when she thought that she hadn’t, but now that she was gone she could clearly see where Krista filled in the sunshine in her heart. She just missed her so damn much.

Ymir clutched at the blanket surrounding her body and curled into a ball. If only this wasn’t happening. If only things had just stayed peaceful and happy. They could have created the perfect life there and grown old together. They could have.

Could have.

But that was ruined, and running away from that fact wouldn’t do anyone any good.

Ymir released the death grip she had placed on her shirt, where her heartbeat slowly started to settle, and opened her eyes. A passionate determination shone in them, accentuated by the moonlight shining in through the window. Ymir glanced outside towards it and felt her heart grow steady.

This was happening, she had no choice. It was time to go back to the old Ymir, the one that got things done no matter what needed to be done. This would be a lesson for her. Never let the lie of security weaken her resolve.

She smirked softly to herself and made a soul promise that she would definitely get her Krista back, no matter what it took. When they get to that casino when morning arrives, she’ll keep her mind clear and sharp, and she’ll rescue what is hers.

The thought put enough ease into her mind that when she closed her exhausted and heavy eyelids again, they refused to open and she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

No matter what, she would bring Krista home.

XxX

The sun began to steadily rise and Krista pressed a shaking hand against the window. She and Nova had been locked up in a room after Salmoneus had brought them to it, and now she was waiting to see what would happen next.

Nova had started another crying fit because she was becoming desperate to see her parent. Krista could completely understand that, and seeing the tiny blonde struggle and sob broke her heart. But she knew that they were coming.

Somewhere out there Ymir and Nanaba were on their way, and all Krista needed to do was keep herself and the baby safe until they arrived. It might have seemed naïve to others for her to believe so strongly in them, but her heart told her to, and at the moment her heart was still beating strong.

Her resolve to protect them was so great that Krista was even prepared to bloody her own hands if need be. She would do it, for Ymir and for Nanaba. Especially for Nova. The thought of taking a life or even wounding someone terrified her, but this situation might call for it. The safety of their lives might call for it, and this wasn’t like the times with Ymir where she had hesitated. She had been scared to kill something that was already dead, and now she was prepared to fight another living being. The weeks of peace had taught her what happiness was and what love and bliss felt like.

She wanted to grow old with Ymir, experience life with Ymir and cry tears of joy and sorrow with her. If it was ever possible she would want to have a child with Ymir too. Marriage was no longer valid in a world like this, but she would like to imagine that if they could she and Ymir could have a wedding. The others would recognize their deepening of the relationship.

And if it were at all possible, she would like to witness the cure for this all.

Krista was absolutely determined to make it back. Her eyes shone just as fiercely as Ymir’s had the previous night – unknown to Krista.

The hand pressed lightly to the surface of the cool glass steadied and Krista released a short yawn. She heard Nova call out softly for her father and hurried over to the infant. Krista hadn’t been able to sleep at all and she was now absolutely tired. She had feared that when she woke Nova would be gone and had therefore stayed up all night to watch her.

Maybe it hadn’t been the best decision but Krista’s heart wouldn’t have been able to handle it otherwise.

She picked the baby up from the makeshift bed she had made with pillows and sheets and held her tenderly to her chest. Nova released a soft sigh and closed her eyes again, thankfully returning to sleep and not bursting into tears. Salmoneus would not have been pleased.

As if thinking the man’s name summoned Salmoneus himself, the door swung open and he stepped into the room with tired eyes but a wide, empty grin. “Get ready, we’re leaving.”

Krista glanced behind her out of the window. It was barely light outside. Were they really going this early?

“To where?” Krista asked in a strong voice. She rocked Nova gently to distract her from hearing Salmoneus’ voice as she slept.

Salmoneus frowned and resisted the urge to slap Krista until that defiant glint in her eyes broke to sorrow. Instead he glared at her and grinned as sadistically as he could. “We are going to the Forest of Giants, my dear. The real showdown begins now.” He turned and headed out of the room. “Jezebel, secure her and the gurgling creature. If she struggles don’t be afraid to rough her up.”

Jezebel nodded in acceptance and stood from where she had been crouched all night. She went into the room to do as she was told, and Krista went without a struggle.

Nova still slept, unaware of the dangers that lay ahead and of what possibilities rested in her future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	22. Chapter 22

It was still in the early break of dawn, and all humans who had not yet turned slept peacefully, trying to ignore the moans of their fallen comrades and keeping themselves ignorant until they had to face reality again. However, one person was occupied with a certain task.

Hanji balanced on the legs of her chair, fiddling with the knob on her radio. She carefully adjusted the frequency as she listened to the static, hoping to find a source of information. Erwin had told her earlier to see if she could find anything that could inform them on the political situation in the country. If it was total anarchy, then it would be good to know, since they would no longer be able to rely on the military or any other governmental service for help.

The man was currently sleeping, trying to stave off another headache resulting from the concussion he had experienced a few hours prior. He slumbered on the floor, pillow under his head, and dreamt of tall castles and fluttering flags, of grand walls and an army at his command, fighting off any threat to his beloved homeland…

“GOT IT!”

The blonde jumped and sat up quickly, breathing heavily as he tensed his body for a fight. He turned his head and saw that Hanji had fallen off of her chair with her arm sticking out. Looking more closely, he saw that the radio was in her hand and it was emitting some sort of coherent speech.

“Hanji?” Erwin yawned, rubbing his face tiredly.

Hanji straightened and grinned excitedly. “Erwin! You are so not gonna believe this! I found a channel for news! Here, listen.”

The woman approached Erwin and sat beside him, putting the radio between their heads. The blonde could hear a vague voice behind the static, and concentrated his ears to catch the words.

“...all survivors… come... here… secret bunkers... northern tip… safe.”

Erwin’s eyes widened and Hanji gasped. “Hanji… I don’t think you found a news channel, I think you matched the frequency of a survivor group calling out to other survivors!”

“I did?” Hanji murmured in shock.

Erwin nodded, and set his expression to a firm frown. “You did, and now we need to let the others know so we can plan this out. Write down this frequency so we can connect to it later, and contact Petra immediately.”

Hanji nodded dumbly and set about to follow his commands. The blonde man put his heavy coat on top of his t-shirt and pants, and prepared himself to go spread the news to his men. They would then spread the rumours and all survivors could move to the bunkers. Just as he stepped outside the door, Hanji held his elbow. Her expression was grim, but determined.

“Erwin, I know this will go against your beliefs, and you will not agree with me, but I don’t think it would be wise to tell these people about the bunkers,” Hanji suggested quietly.

Erwin kept his expression stoic. “I knew you’d say that,” he started, “but this is the right thing to do, and these people deserve to survive.”

“No!” Hanji insisted, “no, Erwin, these people are already dead. Physically, they’re alive, but mentally, they’re gone. They can’t be led to the bunkers, because what happened here will happen there too. I’m sure there are families in those hideouts, or elderly, or just about any human - do you want to risk their lives for the people you want to bring? Think about this Erwin, and think of the future.

“I know I may seem cruel to you, and a little psychotic, but I do truly care about my fellow humans, and I know for a fact that by bringing all these people to this new location, we’ll only be putting everyone there at risk. There’s a reason this frequency is incredibly hard to find, and we happened to find it by chance. We got lucky, and we should take advantage of it.”

Erwin’s expression did not change, however he contemplated deeply before sighing and relenting. “I trust you Hanji,” Erwin said, “and I know that your opinion is usually well-founded upon, so I’ll follow your logic.”

He returned to Hanji’s side and watched as she turned the knob on the radio to Petra’s frequency. However, for some reason, it remained static and unreachable. The bespectacled woman frowned and turned the volume higher, pressing the button on the side and speaking into it.

“Petra? Are you there? Anyone? Please answer!”

Nothing but static greeted her again, which greatly unnerved her. Were they okay? It seemed like something had interfered with their signal, but Hanji could not for the life of her figure out what it could be or why. Erwin exhaled heavily and rubbed his temples.

“We can’t reach them,” he paused, and then started pacing, “so instead we’ll have to go to them.”

Hanji gaped and sputtered. “Wh-what? You want us to go to the Forest of Giants?”

“Yes, we’ll meet up with them there, after they’ve rescued Krista and Nova, and then we’ll move north to the secret bunkers. It’s simple and it’s easy.”

“B-but... you’re injured, and-”

“Hanji,” Erwin interrupted sternly, “we need to go. Now.”

He turned on his heel and exited the room. Hanji sighed and pouted. She pocketed the radio and turned one last glance to the zombie still strapped to the chair in the other room. She blew it one last kiss as it groaned and struggled against its restraints. She pushed her glasses up and exited the room, grimacing at the rotten stench in the air. She spotted Erwin waiting in the passenger seat of the car, armed to the teeth, and dragged her feet over.

With one last glance over her shoulder, she bit her lip and entered the car.

“I guess I’ll have to leave my friends behind.”

x

Krista looked up at the flickering lights of the grand casino. Located just at the edge of Sina, the once-famous tourist attraction was nothing but a remnant of human fallacies. Here, the cheaters won and the winners cheated, and nothing but dishonesty prevailed in the face of greedy mobsters. It was for this reason that the zombie infection had not entirely spread out to the innermost parts of the casino - those areas had been heavily secured before the outbreak, and remained so despite being desolate.

Salmoneus knew that piece of information and had planned on using it as his base. He then shared this with Krista, who did not react outwardly to his admission.

“The deepest parts of this casino are bulletproof, because that’s where all the money was kept from the slot machines at the end of the day. The people who ran this place were cheaters, and they valued their bills more than anything else.” Salmoneus walked forward and touched the marble fountain which had ceased to spray water. “And that’s where your new home will be until I feed you to the skinners.”

Krista shuddered and gripped Nova tighter to her. She was allowed to have her wrists and ankles free for being obedient, however her waist was tied to a rope which was attached to Salmoneus’ wrist, preventing her from running away if, at any point, she decided to disobey.

The blonde tried to ignore Salmoneus’ ominous chuckles and concentrated on observing the scenery. The casino itself would have looked gorgeous had it not been for the power and water outage, which instead made it look haunted and ghastly. There was a large marble fountain that preluded the entrance, and the spout was essentially a giant covered in jewels and wealthy objects. All around the casino were stone trees and statues of giants that made the area all the more frightening. So detailed were the statues that Krista had feared them being actual creatures sent out to make life harder than it was already. Ymir’s pessimism had begun to rub off on her lately.

Thinking of Ymir only made her feel depressed, so Krista tried to move her thoughts in a more positive manner. What would Ymir do? Ymir would be planning an escape by now, and that was what Krista was thinking at this moment. She needed to think of an escape plan, and act on it.

Salmoneus had mentioned that this secret room was bulletproof and used to contain the money of the tycoons who owned the place. Krista knew for a fact that the greedy would never be able to leave their money behind so carelessly, therefore they must have had a relatively easy way to reach it should anything disastrous happen to the casino. The blonde banked her chances of escaping on the tycoons’ paranoia, and she hoped her theories were correct.

The casino had a large sign on the front with its odd name in bold, green letters, plus large, round bulbs that were once flashing lights inciting the curious to try out the facilities. Salmoneus tugged Krista further in and pushed the glass doors open. Jezebel kept a wary watch for any threats. Nova nuzzled further against Krista in her sleep, and the blonde tightened her arms around her.

Suddenly, a groan sounded and heavy, rapid footsteps became louder as a corpse ran at them. Salmoneus merely stood, watching impassively as Jezebel moved quickly and cut down the threat. Krista squeaked and paled when blood spilled across the floor. She made sure to keep Nova’s eyes to her chest, just so she wouldn’t have to witness the horror should she ever wake.

“Good work, Jezebel,” Salmoneus said tonelessly, “keep a watch out for anything else, but try not to kill all of them. They will be of some use to me in the near future.”

Krista swallowed nervously at his words and kept quiet as he pulled her along. “Come now, no need to be shy,” he laughed, “I won’t bite, but the others will if you disobey.”

The blonde nodded and followed the armoured man along the gambling areas. They had already passed by the lobby and were entering the slot machine room. Rows upon rows of luck-testers lined the area, and there were even some shadows creeping about eerily in between. However, they did not notice the intruders, and Salmoneus successfully entered another level higher than they were currently in.

The group climbed a set of stairs and followed the King of Bones down a path only he knew. Jezebel kept her body tense and ready for anything, and Krista tried to keep calm in the face of this danger. She didn’t know what to expect, and so she prepared herself for any possible outcome. She made sure to be wary of her surroundings, and noted they were on the fifth floor.

Finally, they reached a room labelled ‘STAFF ONLY’, and entered after Salmoneus jiggled with the lock for a bit. Inside, there was a comfortable setting for employees to go to once on their break. There was a couch, a refrigerator, a television, a bed, a kitchenette, and even a pool table. The room was spacious and provided very generously for its occupants.

However, Salmoneus ignored all of that and directed his attention to a room entitled ‘MANAGER’, swiftly dealing with the lock and entering that room as well. What appeared to be a standard office was really just a front for another room that was hidden behind a shelf of books. Salmoneus then entered that room, which was the exact replica of a small, furnished apartment, and threw Krista in after cutting the rope. She stumbled a bit, but regained her footing and glared. Salmoneus laughed as he closed off the room and locked it.

Krista carefully set Nova down after hearing Salmoneus’ laughter fade away, then set out to work.

She had to find that secret exit, and soon.

x

Salmoneus walked down the aisles of slot machines and watched as Jezebel captured the zombies. She skilfully tied their limbs and muzzled their mouths before carrying them across the room and throwing them into a cage in another grand hall. That hall was the entertainment centre, where scantily-clad women danced exotically for their earnings, where men indulged in their own unfulfilled fantasies in which unobtainable women flaunted what could never be touched. In here, the only entertainment to be fulfilled was that of Salmoneus, because this was the place where he planned to rip Ymir’s heart to shreds.

The cage used to be where the women would dance, but now, it was where the zombies would feast. Salmoneus laughed cruelly as he exited the room and set about to create traps for his guests. What kind of host would he be if he didn’t make things more interesting? He had party favours, he had sent out invitations, and he had even gathered a prize… but now was the time to set up activities to keep his guests busy.

Along the second floor he placed several trap doors that led to another room on the floor below. Each room the victim fell into contained zombies bursting with hunger, and it would only take a skilled fighter to eliminate them all.

On the third floor, where another round of slot machines lined up, where secret triggers that, when pulled or touched, would unleash a torrent of chains that would tie the victim up and pull them away into another room. Jezebel would await the victim and swiftly deal with them there.

The fourth floor had nothing, but this was designed so that the victims would feel psychological pressure with every step they took to approach the fifth floor, where Salmoneus would be waiting with his hostages in the entertainment room. The door that led to the stairs to the floor above would be rigged - the doorknob was packed with enough volts to send whoever touched it to sleep, and therefore all of these tricks would lower the guests’ numbers, if Ymir had brought company, until only she was left. Salmoneus had strong hope that she would survive, because she was a survivor, and she would never lose until she faced him.

After all of Salmoneus’ hard work, the man decided to check up on the blonde, since he knew that, despite her streak of obedience, she would be bound to acting out if given the opportunity. With a sigh, he trudged into the secret room and immediately screamed in fury.

Krista was missing.

x

Krista bit her lip to quiet her breaths, and jumped when she heard the scream from a level above. Obviously, Salmoneus had discovered that she had escaped, so now she only had little time to get away before he tried to fetch her or send Jezebel after her.

It had happened coincidentally. Krista had tired herself out looking for a secret passageway, and slouched against the wall in exhaustion before she felt the wall shift behind her. Thinking it odd for a coat of paint to move around, the blonde had felt the wall and immediately realized it was really a fabric designed to hide a door. The door was metallic and guarded by a padlock, but Krista quickly figured out the password after searching the room and finding a hint wedged between the pages of a book.

The blonde strapped Nova to her chest after feeding her and changing her diaper, then exited through the door and stepped out into an exit leading outside. However, she knew that the car was on the other side of the casino, and that there were most likely zombies waiting for her downstairs and outside, so she decided to follow the same route they had taken to get here.

She had currently just passed the slot machines on the second floor, and quickly peeked around one of the gambling devices when she gasped quietly and turned back round. Jezebel had been walking just then. Swallowing nervously, the blonde peeked around again and sighed in relief when the woman headed up the stairs at the far end of the hall.

Krista made to stand and turned back round to the front, then screamed in fear once Jezebel pushed her against the machine behind her. The blonde struggled but it was futile - the assassin knocked her out swiftly.

When Krista woke, she felt something strange, yet familiar. It was an odd feeling, one that she had only encountered once before being rescued by the same person she was hoping would come back to repeat the deed. Her feet rested on nothing but the groans of the undead, and her body remained dangling above the hungry flesh-eaters.

Krista blinked her eyes open and could not move her arms - a chain was wrapped around her body several times, and then attached to the chandelier above. The blonde chanced a glance down and felt her heart drop to her toes - she really was dangling above a horde, just like that time when she had almost fallen into an alley full of the dead.

Would Ymir be here to save her again? Krista held on to the hope that she would. However, her main preoccupation was Nova. Where was the baby? Was she okay? She started to panic as she thought of all the possible scenarios, and cursed herself for not thinking of Nova’s situation should she have been caught. Her biggest hope right now was that Nova was unharmed.

The blonde turned her head when she heard wailing and sighed in immense relief when she saw that Nova was on a table, safe but clearly unhappy. Beside her, Salmoneus glared up at the blonde with a look that clearly said not to fuck with him.

“You fucked up,” Salmoneus said simply, “you fucked around and you disobeyed me. I should kill the baby, but I think I’ll just kill you first.” The man walked to a lever he had created and activated it. Krista shrieked as the chain unrolled and loosened, rapidly descending her near the horde. This was it, she was dead. They would eat her alive, and Nova would be left alone and she would never be able to see Ymir again.

Just before her toe could reach the grasp of the undead, Salmoneus halted the chains and slowly began rolling her back up. Krista sobbed in relief, having almost seen her life flash before her eyes. He had almost ended it here, and the only reason why he didn’t do it was the personal satisfaction he’d feel once he did it in front of Ymir.

That was it. There was no more humanity in this man, and there never will be. His past may have been able to explain his actions, but it was far too late for any change of heart.

“Twelve hours. That’s all she has before I end you once and for all. The baby will stay here, and your ears will be tortured by its incessant cries.”

Salmoneus exited the room with a flourish, leaving Krista feeling desperate and hopeless.

x

“This place was used recently.”

This statement came from Ymir, who had stumbled upon a hidden stash of baby food containers and diapers that smelled fresh. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, the brunette covered up the garbage before suddenly doing a double take. Baby food containers? Recently disposed diapers? Could it be…?

“Nanaba!” Ymir exclaimed suddenly, grinning, “get your ass over here now!”

“What is it?” The blonde approached Ymir with a raised eyebrow, wondering what was going on now. Damn, Ymir was unpredictable when she wanted to be.

Ymir uncovered the garbage and pointed at it. “Take a look at this.”

“It’s a bunch of diapers and baby food containers,” Nanaba concluded dryly. She grimaced and pinched her nose. “And they’re recent, too.”

“Which means…”

Nanaba’s eyes widened and she felt her heart rate pick up. Nova. Krista. They had been here, hadn’t they? And recently, too! So that meant that they were still alive at this point, which could mean that they might still be okay! And Nova was being taken care of, which obviously implied that Krista was trying her hardest to keep the baby safe. Nanaba felt appreciative of Krista’s efforts, and vowed to save them both.

Despite the fear she knew Krista was feeling, the blonde had still taken it upon herself to take care of Nova for her and keep her safe, and Nanaba was incredibly grateful for that. Once more, she felt the hope fill her chest and was more determined than ever to rescue their blondes.

Mikasa and Annie, on the other hand, remained vigilant around the house. They secured the parameters and disposed of any bodies that could attract unwanted intruders to their house. It had been hard, especially when they noticed that some had even been fully human, but it was the only way.

The two teens were not feeling as stressed as their other group members, but they still felt the strain of having lost their friend _again_. When would they be able to live in peace, without having to fear a threat in their lives? When could they just wake up one morning without having to fear a drooling, hungry zombie nipping at their heels? _When,_ goddamn it?

Mikasa sighed and leaned against Annie, watching the dawn break over the horizon.

“We’ll find her,” Annie promised.

Mikasa stayed quiet, then, “I hope so.”

Petra paced nervously and chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to radio Hanji. Nothing had been working so far. No matter how high she stretched herself or how often she shook the device, the interference with her signal would not go away and Hanji was unreachable. Her worry for her friend took over her mind, and Petra really wished they had just brought Hanji along with them just for her peace of mind.

When Nanaba walked into the room wearing an unusual grin, Petra approached her and presented her problem. The blonde sighed and kissed the woman’s forehead.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re fine. It’s probably just a little interference is all - it should be cleared once we move away from all the chaos. Remember, we’re near the cut off zone that Erwin set up, so there are lots of rebels doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” Nanaba paused, then hugged Petra tightly. “Hanji and Erwin are fine. As soon as we rescue Nova and Krista, we’ll meet up here and discuss alternatives to Sina.”

Petra agreed, but the foreboding feeling in her chest told her that something just wasn’t right. She tried to ignore it, however, and sunk into Nanaba’s embrace to melt away her worries.

In another room, Ymir gazed out the window, holding tightly onto her gun.

“I’m coming for you Krista, just wait for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	23. Chapter 23

_Nanaba’s eyes blinked openly slowly. Her side felt cold, which was unusual, so she reached out and felt around on the soft bed sheets for the body that should have been there. Upon finding nothing Nanaba’s eyes finally opened to their capacity and realization dawned on her._

_The happenings of the past few months, of all the trials and situations struck her hard, and she flopped over onto her back. Air escaped her lungs in one swift swoop, sounding much like a tired sigh. It really hurt; her heart, everything._

_Nanaba clutched at her chest and gripped the slightly damp fabric of her shirt between her fingers. When she felt the sweat that had dampened it she scrunched her nose up in displeasure and pushed up onto her elbows._

_It was too damn hot and she did not have an air conditioner. She barely had anything at the moment besides the basics. Nanaba hadn’t expected her once stable life to take such a drastic turn, and as such had never prepared for something like this to ever happen. She still felt as if the carpet had been tugged right from underneath her feet, and she had yet to hit the ground._

_Nearly a year ago Nanaba had had the perfect life. She had a wonderful job that paid magnificently, a beautiful large apartment and a luxurious car. She was well known and well respected. She also had a beautiful fiancé by the name of Carmen._

_Carmen was definitely the envy of every women, and by being with her Nanaba became the envy of every man. They had met in a coffee shop and it had been passionate love from the first glance. Nanaba had truly believed that she was in love. But what she didn’t know was that Carmen loved money above all else, and Nanaba just happened to be loaded with it. The blonde woman felt no need to be as extravagant as her pay check, though most thought otherwise. A lot of her money was donated and the car, house and occasional fancy gifts to Carmen were all bought with the money Nanaba kept aside for such occasions. On other days she rarely kept more than what was barely needed. After all, she had experienced the horrors of life long before finding herself a comfy little piece of existence._

_She had joined the army the moment she was of age. Nanaba was a prodigy in everything a solider was considered to be. Her rank rose swiftly and before she knew it she was at the top. But even that never fully prepared her for the horrors of war. One moment talking to a fellow soldier could turn into another moment full of showering bullets. Nanaba could be standing next to someone, and seconds later that someone could have blown to pieces. There was no peace of mind, no solace._

_When she had returned she had been a broken person, but Nanaba was never the kind to ever give up. Through sheer determination she turned her life around into what it had become. But even then, she felt unsatisfied. Or she had, until she had met Carmen._

_But then Carmen had suddenly left her, saying that she couldn’t do the engagement and that she no longer loved Nanaba. Nanaba should have suspected it from the start since she had learnt to read people very accurately, but love tended to make a person blind to their lover’s faults._

_It was a painful blow, but Nanaba had accepted it. Even as Carmen claimed everything she owned, Nanaba didn’t resist. She didn’t need the stuff or want it. This hadn’t been the happiness she had sought._

_Shortly after, it was discovered that Carmen had been having an affair with Nanaba’s boss, which in turn got her fired. Like with the case of her possessions, Nanaba merely accepted the situation as it was. She packed her office up and left with a heavy heart._

_She found a small, dingy flat close to where her house used to be. It was old and unkempt, and when it rained there was a leak in the roof of the kitchen. But it felt more like home than the apartment Nanaba had slept in for years._

_But now, as she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, she wondered how it had all gone so wrong. She wondered at what point things turned for the worst. Dwelling on it would not change what had happened, but Nanaba couldn’t help it. She felt sad and alone. There was a constant nagging thought that if she could have done something differently, would it have changed things? If she had noticed Carmen’s ill intent from the start, could she have truly spared herself this heartache?_

_Nanaba’s rational mind told her to forget about ever figuring it out. Her heart told her to seek the answer._

_So she tried to while she also attempted to get over the many hurdles that had overcome her. She found a new job that was less grand and paid lower than what was needed, but the other employees were kind people and her boss was alright. At least that shed some light on her darkness._

_Nanaba just wished that she could get rid of her emotional attachment to Carmen. Most of her wanted to throttle the woman, but she wouldn’t ever do something like that. Nanaba was too much of a gentlewoman. Despite everything she still cared._

_Now that her mind was throbbing with chaotic thoughts again Nanaba climbed out of bed and decided to take a long, cold shower. Since the air was hot and muggy it would do good to cool her skin off, and maybe even clear her mind._

_It was still early, but not that early, apparently._

_Just as she exited the bathroom, fully clothed and tousling her wet hair with a towel, Nanaba received a phone call that sent a cold chill down her spine._

_“Hello?”_

_“Hi, is this Nanaba?” It was the voice of a man and someone that Nanaba didn’t recognize, but he sounded rushed and panicked. The blonde woman immediately straightened._

_“Yes.”_

_“Good. Look, it’s about Carmen. She’s in the hospital. Do you think you could come here?”_

_Nanaba’s heart stuttered. “Rose Hospital?”_

_The man confirmed it and Nanaba wasted no time in getting ready and rushing out of the flat. She still had her car, at least, and she hurriedly climbed into it. She probably should have asked why Carmen was in the hospital before racing off to be by her side, or why they had called her, but her heart was doing the thinking for her. Which meant that she wasn’t thinking at all._

_The ride to the hospital wasn’t all that long and once there Nanaba hurried inside. She rushed past people, exclaiming apologies when she bumped into a person here and there. Some nurses sent her glances of pity, as they had seen far too many people rushing through the hospital in a panic. It was a common scene._

_Nanaba managed her way to the front desk and gave them Carmen’s name. The woman behind the computer immediately recognized her, which struck Nanaba as strange, and quickly ushered the blonde woman to follow her. Nanaba’s heart felt stuck in her throat, beating and aching as she followed the shorter woman through the first floor._

_After ascending a few floors they left the elevator and Nanaba paused. This was the maternity wing, but she didn’t have time to ask why because the woman was already walking away and exclaiming for her to follow. She mentioned something to a few nurses standing by one of the rooms, and they all widened their eyes. Some gave her sympathetic looks and most of them simply looked away._

_Nanaba was nearly in a full panic by then and became incredibly confused when she was guided into an empty hospital room and informed to wait. The nurse that had brought her here left after giving her a reassuring smile, and then a few minutes later a completely different nurse stepped into the room carrying something in her arms._

_“Are you Nanaba?”_

_“I, uh… yes that’s me.”_

_The redheaded nurse nodded once to herself and approached. “I understand that this must be very confusing for you.” As she drew near Nanaba glanced at what she held against her chest. “A woman was in this room not too long ago, Carmen?”_

_Nanaba nodded dumbly. She had no idea what was going on. “I was called by a man and told that she was here. He didn’t tell me why and I never thought to ask.”_

_The redhead’s eyes grew closed with pity. “We were informed that you would arrive soon, but Carmen disappeared from her room. The man she was with disappeared with her, and we found a note on the bed.”_

_Nanaba finally got a good look at what the nurse was carrying and her heart stuttered. “Is that… a baby?”_

_“Carmen gave birth just under four days ago. It’s a girl.” Instead of looking at Nanaba with pity like she had up until that point, the nurse smiled and her eyes grew soft. “She is yours.”_

_The bundle was handed over to Nanaba who had no choice but to take it. She stumbled slightly and looked down at the wrapped baby in her arms. A tuft of thick blonde hair stuck up at the top of her head and her face was peaceful as she dozed._

_“But this isn’t… how can…” Nanaba furrowed her brows. How was this even possible?_

_“We assumed that the man she was with is the father, but she vehemently denied it and said that the child is yours. She had tests done to prove it, and she was right. That child is yours, Miss Nanaba. As it is, with the mother gone and with her rights sort of signed away to you, we have no one else to leave her to.” The nurse then went over to the table beside the bed and retrieved the note. After handing it to Nanaba she excused herself and closed the door to give the stunned woman her privacy._

_“How?” Nanaba took a seat and hesitantly read the note. Its contents made her so angry that halfway through she had to stop reading and lean back to gain control of her breathing._

_The not read:_ ‘Nanaba, by now I’m already headed to an airport. You’re probably surprised but the child is yours. Who would have thought that it would work? I never wanted her but you know I couldn’t have had an abortion. If you don’t take her then she’ll probably be sent to a foster home. I don’t really care. I’m not the mother type. By the time you get home with her, if you take her, then I’ll be on my way to Hawaii. It’s up to you what to do with the child.

From, Carmen.

P.s: I haven’t named her. So you probably should.’

_The tiny body pressed against Nanaba’s chest shifted and the baby made a soft noise. She shifted a bit more and then her eyes fluttered open. Nanaba was shocked to stare into the eyes she only ever saw in a mirror._

_The blonde hair, and now the blue eyes, really did resemble those parts of Nanaba. But how could this be sprung on her so suddenly? She came here believing Carmen was hurt and was handed a child believed to be hers?_

_The baby made a few gurgling noises, took a breath and then she started to wail. Nanaba immediately held her out in front of her body and cringed. She didn’t know what to do and began to panic._

_“No, please don’t cry. Please don’t cry!”_

_The baby’s face turned red with the force of her crying. Eventually Nanaba gave up trying to reason with her and just pressed the infant against her chest once more, but this time with her ear pressed to the blonde’s chest. The baby quieted almost immediately, as if she was distracted by the loud heartbeat pounding beneath her ear. Nanaba sighed in relief that the baby had calmed and warily stood from her seat._

_She gently rocked the baby girl in her arms and went over to the window, thinking and pondering. There was no way she would leave here without her, that much Nanaba knew. Even if the baby really wasn’t hers – but she was, as blood tests proved it – she wouldn’t be able to simply leave her there._

_But could she take care of a baby? Did she even want to?_

_A sudden rash, unexpected desire caught her in a pause._

_Yes, she did._

_The baby finally fell asleep again and Nanaba wrapped her up in her blanket. She found the nurse that had brought the baby to her and informed her that she would take her home. She then named her Nova, and that night she was nervous beyond belief and still quite bewildered out of her mind, but she accepted the situation as it was._

_It took seconds for Nanaba to fall in love with Nova. It had happened the instant the little girl woke, opened her eyes and gripped Nanaba’s finger with her tiny hand. As Nanaba had marvelled at how small and fragile she was, her heart grew twice its size and filled with love for her child._

_“So you’re mine, huh?” Nanaba commented softly. She was standing in her room at midnight, rocking Nova gently in her arms to calm her after another crying fit. The best remedy seemed to be the sound of Nanaba’s heartbeat._

_Nova breathed softly against Nanaba’s collarbone and the tall blonde pressed her cheek to the baby’s soft blonde hair._

_“I wonder how this will turn out,” Nanaba said to Nova. The baby’s hold on her finger tightened ever so slightly, and Nanaba smiled. “I guess I’ll have to find out, huh?” She turned and padded back over to her bed where she gently laid back down and positioned Nova comfortably atop her chest._

_Nova refused to let her finger go and she felt comfort in that and in the large hand pressed to her tiny back, keeping her in place. The little girl fell asleep with ease._

_In days Nanaba’s life took a drastic turn, but for the better, and Nova became that happiness that she had sought all her life._

XxX

Hanji flailed in panic and grabbed onto the seat when the car hit a particularly deep pothole and they swerved around a corner seconds after. She cursed loudly and caught her glasses just as they flew off of the bridge of her nose.

“Erwin! Slow down!”

Erwin spared a glance behind him and chuckled lightly. “Endure it for now. We have to get out of these walls as soon as possible.”

Hanji grumbled unhappily, still upset about having to leave her experiments/best friends behind. She had wanted to take them with or something but Erwin would have refused, so she never even asked.

“Why do we need to _speed_ through broken streets? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Erwin didn’t spare a glance this time, but his tone turned low and serious. “Ever since I woke up I’ve been having a bad feeling. I can’t help but wonder if there are any other bombs strapped to the walls. If so, and if they went off, they would collapse in on Sina itself. We need to get out of here just in case.”

Hanji didn’t protest the idea. Sure, it was a wild thought, but Erwin was known for his startlingly accurate intuition. If he truly felt bothered by the possibility then it was most likely what was about to happen.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“We meet up with the others at the casino, inform them of the situation and then assist in recovering Krista and Nova if they are not yet retrieved.”

Hanji pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, but then they hit another pothole and it went skew. “And then we head north?”

Erwin nodded. “North is all we have. And I have a feeling that we need to get there as soon as possible.”

Hanji folded her arms across her chest and lapsed into deep thought.

After the explosion rebel groups had gone on rampages, killing each other and the swarming hordes. Most of them were being wiped out, but some still prevailed. They drove right past the many different battles taking place and the sheer amount of dead scuffling around in the once safe areas of Sina was alarming.

Where had all of them even come from? Was it perhaps that they had been migrating, for whatever reason? Were they simply walking in one direction and not towards anything specific?

“Hanji,” Erwin spoke up and broke the brunette from her thoughts. “After your recent experiments, did you discover anything significant?”

Hanji started nibbling on her lip. “I did. Their bodies are slowly decomposing, that much is fact. I’m not sure to what extent it will continue though, because they will need a long while for the decomposition to progress enough. I did find another weakness of theirs.” She grinned scarily, in that eerie way that only she could ever do.

“And what is that?”

“Electricity.”

Erwin’s eyebrows rose. “Electricity?”

“Yeah! I shocked one of them out of curiosity, with a taser, and the portion of skin I had shocked literally disintegrated in seconds.”

Hearing that, Erwin’s eyes widened. “Hanji, that is a profound discovery. If they are as weak to electricity as your experiment proved then we can create electric barriers to ward them off. Safe camps can be made that much safer, and we can focus more on weapons with this in mind.”

Hanji nodded along with Erwin’s words. “I didn’t get much of a chance to test it out further. I’ll need to do a few more tests. Who knows, maybe I’ll even discover the cure!”

Erwin’s grip on the steering wheel tightened and his knuckles turned white. If Hanji was correct then this was it. This was their answer to staying alive in the mess the world had become. Even if Hanji wasn’t able to find some kind of cure, which was likely, then they could at least conjure ways to create safe towns that would ensure complete isolation from the beasts. Erwin needed the time and the man power to accomplish this, if it were true. But where could he find it? This knowledge would do humanity no good if they did not figure out how to apply it to their situation.

“I don’t know about the cure,” Erwin said, “but I think we can turn this situation around and find a way to bring humanity back onto its feet.”

He rounded another sharp corner and darted his eyes to all areas around them. Every few moments he would glance up at the looming walls and his gut would tighten more, causing his foot to press down harder against the acceleration.

He hoped the others had left the walls by now and were at the casino. Better yet, he hoped that they had recovered what they went there to retrieve.

For now he drove on and focused on getting them out of there as soon as possible. They both remained silent, Hanji lost in her thoughts of her experiments and of what she had learnt so far and Erwin pondering on their next course of action.

When they left the city, finally, he released a breath of relief. And then seconds later explosions rocked the earth and the walls cracked threateningly from the point of explosion to the top.

The walls began to crumble and fall, and Erwin didn’t look back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	24. Chapter 24

Gravel crunched underneath tires as the Jeep finally halted. Outside, the Forest of Giants loomed eerily over the vehicle in the form of a dark shadow. Casting doubt upon the weary rescuers, its haunted appearance brought the morale of the group down slightly.

Nanaba exited the car and slammed her door shut, leaning against it. She had been daydreaming the entire ride, wondering how bad this would go. All her life, she had been subjected to reality’s harsh cruelties, and she didn’t know if she would be able to simply take it if something bad happened now. Who knows? She might go out just as this world had if Nova were to be taken from her.

Petra stood next to her silently, and Nanaba permitted herself to look at her, finally taking time to appreciate her presence. Carmen may have destroyed all her hopes for love, but Petra reignited that flame. Petra showed her how arrogant she was to think that she could even live without ever loving someone again. Nova was her purpose of living, her drive to get up every morning and keep herself safe, however it was draining. It was draining being a single parent and having to take care of an individual who needed so much attention at all times. She loved Nova, she would give up her own life if it meant the little girl could live a happy one, but she needed a break at times to focus on herself, to keep herself happy as well. And Petra provided that break.

Nanaba could see that Petra was genuine, that she was a sincere individual who would never use another human being to benefit herself. Petra was a bit too much at times with her constant worrying; however her heart was big enough for even Nova to see her kindness. Nanaba had decided that if Nova liked her, then she would have no problem liking her either.

She just never expected to fall in love with her.

The blonde smiled and held Petra’s hands in hers, her smile widening at the blush barely visible in the dark. She leaned down to give her a feather-light kiss, and Petra closed her eyes almost wistfully as she reciprocated. When they both opened their eyes, both women were looking into the other’s lovingly.

“Whatever happens,” Nanaba murmured, breaking the silence, “just know that I love you.” She closed her eyes when Petra pressed their lips together once more, this time a bit more urgent and desperate.

When the shorter woman pulled back, both were breathing heavily and their eyes were hooded. “I love you too,” Petra whispered breathlessly, running a hand through Nanaba’s hair.

Nanaba hugged Petra tightly and buried her face in her neck. “Thank you, for everything. I never got to formally show my gratitude, so here it is.”

Petra wrapped her arms around the woman’s neck and smiled against her. “And thank you, for saving our lives back then. For everything as well.”

They remained in their embrace, and Ymir did her best to ignore them as she slammed the door to the driver’s side shut. She had been the one to drive them here, on Petra’s insistence - Nanaba had been shaking wildly when she had driven the first few miles. She leaned against the car and looked up at the sky, keeping her emotions from surfacing. She was going to kill Salmoneus, and get Krista back and Nova too, if Nanaba couldn’t do it.

With a stony determination weighing her shoulders, Ymir grit her teeth and armed herself.

Inside the Jeep, Mikasa and Annie shared a kiss and lightly touched each other as they prepared their own sentimental resolve. They were anxious to get Krista back, and their hasty actions showed it. However, no one knew how this rescue attempt would turn out, so it was better to say their goodbyes now before anything regrettable occurred.

Mikasa bit into Annie’s neck lightly and smirked at her moan, but she soon pulled away to deeply look into her eyes. Annie raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“I was getting too carried away,” Mikasa explained. She paused, and then looked past Annie’s head at the establishment stretching mightily high. “We should hurry.”

Annie watched Mikasa arm herself, and then when the black-haired woman put a hand to the door, the blonde stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

“Wait,” Annie whispered, “don’t go yet.”

Mikasa blinked but sighed. “I know. I feel it too.”

Annie grit her teeth and looked away. “I want to save Krista, but…”

“We lost Krista once; we had another chance with her. I know for a fact that we won’t get a second chance if we don’t rescue her.”

Annie nodded and rolled her eyes when Mikasa brushed her lips against her fringe. “Don’t worry too much,” Mikasa reassured earnestly, “nothing’s going to happen.”

“I love you,” Annie said suddenly. Mikasa blinked again at the sudden admission, but her smile warmed Annie’s heart.

“Annie, I love you very much,” Mikasa replied firmly. Annie smirked and bumped their foreheads together.

“Let’s go then.” She intertwined their fingers on one hand and allowed Mikasa to lead her out of the car. They both re-joined the group at the front of the car. All five of them pressed their lips tightly as they marched forward. Ymir and Annie carried the flashlights for the group, and were on either side as they tried to keep their visibility as high as possible.

The brunette glanced off to the side and halted when she heard a noise. She reached out and gripped Nanaba’s shoulder, who looked back questioningly, then pointed at the horde turning the corner of the casino.

“Shit!” Nanaba cursed. She immediately grabbed Petra’s hand and dragged her forward as she ran. Mikasa and Annie followed suit, while Ymir covered their backs with dual pistols shooting at anything that came too close.

Finally, they reached the glass double doors of the entertainment establishment, and hurriedly entered. As soon as Ymir pressed her back against the inside of the door, bloodied and rotted bodies slammed against the outside, followed by the chilling groans no one had truly gotten accustomed to.

Ymir’s chest heaved and her eyes were wide with terror. “What the fuck are you guys doing?” she shouted, startling the four, “help me out and block these doors with something!”

Mikasa and Annie immediately set out to find heavy objects and carried them over. With Nanaba’s help, the double doors were completely covered and blocked by random pieces of furniture. Ymir tested the blockade out and nodded in satisfaction when it stayed put.

“Alright, let’s move out,” Nanaba stated. She looked around the casino lobby and spotted a set of grand stairs. “Let’s try going up the stairs. We’ll have to search the entire area to find them.”

“Should we split up?” Ymir asked.

Nanaba considered the idea but shook her head. “No, it’s better if we stay together,” she disagreed, “that way we don’t have to meet up at some point or lose each other.”

The blonde walked up the stairs, followed by her comrades, and they were greeted with the sight of rows of slot machines. She stayed put and waited for them to catch up before making her next move.

“I think we should organize how we move out,” Mikasa suggested, stopping Nanaba from going further. When the blonde turned to look at her, Mikasa continued her explanation. “We’re vulnerable and disorganized right now. I think that Ymir should be up front with the flashlight, while Annie stays near the back, with me behind her. Petra will go in the middle, and you will go in front of her and behind Ymir. If we move in a straight line, it will be far easier to keep together and avoid getting separated.”

Nanaba nodded in agreement and voiced it. The women organized themselves into the proposed order and moved on.

“Be careful,” Nanaba warned.

It was ominously quiet, except for the faint groaning that seemed to surround the room. Ymir became jittery with anticipation, and Nanaba narrowed her eyes to hide the growing rage within her. Mikasa and Annie stoically prepared themselves, while Petra held her breath to concentrate. However, nothing happened, but the group was far too experienced to leave it at that. They remained tense as they resumed their pace.

Petra exhaled deeply and inhaled to remain calm, while Ymir showed no emotion as she walked ahead. She kept a gun in one hand while the flashlight was held in the other, and her other gun rested against her hip. All the women wore body bracers to protect themselves from any surprise bites, however nothing could really be guaranteed, least of all their safety.

Ymir’s thoughts were filled with saving Krista, exacting her revenge on Salmoneus, saving Nova and getting the hell out of here all at once. The urge to just give up and flee was great, however her resolve to save what she cherished most outshone her fears. It was time to stand up and take back what was hers. For Ymir, this was the only time where she would not let fate take its course and would defy it until her very last breath. What happened now would be on Ymir’s terms.

Behind her, Nanaba had the same thoughts as well. This time, she simply would not take whatever hand she was dealt with - instead, she’d reach over to the dealer, steal his cards and pick her own set to play with. No longer would she allow this push and pull of reality’s tide to dictate her life. It was either save Nova, or nothing. The blonde kept her body tense at all times and her grip on her gun strong in order to react accordingly to any threats that dared to keep her away from Nova.

Petra crossed her arms and tried her hardest to steel her nerves for both Nova and Krista. She needed to be brave for them, especially since Nanaba had complied with her request and brought her along, despite the obvious dangers. If Petra couldn’t handle this, then Nanaba would only regret her decision.

Annie made sure to shine light where Ymir couldn’t reach, so they had a beam of light on each side of their linear arrangement. She had her blades strapped to her side and a semi-automatic rifle on her back. Mikasa had her sword handy as well, but she preferred the power of a shotgun to the speed of a rifle, which she held tightly and professionally in her hands. Surviving out in the lawless world showed just how talented she was with handling weapons, and allowed her to master them with ease.

Both girls were thinking of Krista as well, hoping to save their dear friend from a horrible end. They both could not imagine how horrible it must have been for her to go through this ordeal after just settling into a comfortable life. They were reminded of the time when the apocalypse first broke out, when all they could think of was how much they missed their old lives and their routines that seemed to have only been in place yesterday. Now, they were wondering what else this cruel life would take away from them for its thirst to finally be sated. How many more people would die under their hands before the slaughter finally came to an end? It was impossible to say - they had seen countless people die and had seen their friends meet their own bitter ends. They hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye to their families, and knew not where they were or their status. Mikasa and Annie felt their hope diminishing with every step, but kept their chins up with their shorter friend’s bright smile in mind.

Krista would not be lost like Sasha was.

A glint reflected off of the ground, but Mikasa paid it no heed as her attention was taken by a shadow dashing across the room. Something wasn’t right - there was no way that was from a zombie. Who else lurked here that they weren’t aware of? Before Mikasa could pursue that thought, a sudden pressure against her foot caused her to look down and widen her eyes in shock. The glint from before manifested in a metal wire stretched by her foot. Mikasa had seen enough movies prior to the apocalypse to recognize a trap, and could only manage a startled shout before the tile underneath her collapsed.

Annie whirled around to see her lover fall into the floor and rushed to where she fell. She grabbed her wrist with both her hands and the flashlight fell beside her. The light shone against Mikasa’s face and reflected off of her coal orbs. They glittered like jet black jewels.

“MIKASA!” Annie shouted desperately. She broke out into a cold sweat when the groaning became louder. She looked around and saw that nothing was approaching them, and that Ymir, Nanaba and Petra were bracing themselves for an attack.

“Annie! Below!” Mikasa cried. The blonde looked below to see a horde of zombies being partially lit by her flashlight. They reached and clawed for Mikasa, scraping their crusted nails against the bottom of her boots.

Annie tried her best to pull Mikasa up, and nearly succeeded, but a particularly strange case in the horde stretched out hard enough to pull Mikasa down into the hungry feasters. Annie fell back due to the force and heard only the sound of gunshots and Mikasa’s own rough voice struggling against the undead.

“GO!” Mikasa shouted, ducking under a swipe. She shot straight into a zombie’s forehead, blasting its brains out and moving on to the next one. However, one grabbed hold of her waist, and she looked up desperately to ensure that Annie had gotten away. In truth, she hoped that the blonde would come down and fight with her, but above all she wanted Annie to be safe, and therefore withheld her selfish desires.

Annie was torn between obeying Mikasa’s wish and rebelling against her yet again, and when she had finally made up her mind to jump in, Nanaba quickly pulled her along to the stairs in the far right corner of the room.

“What are you doing?” Annie yelled in outrage, her eyes shining ferociously. Nanaba shone her discarded flashlight into her eyes to lessen her glare, then quickly shoved her up the stairs.

“Mikasa can take care of herself. Have faith - we don’t have much time left and we need all the help we can get.”

Annie struggled against the urge to rip Nanaba apart and head back to Mikasa, but when she saw the horde swarming up the first set of stairs, she knew it was futile. The rebellion faded from her gaze and she obeyed Nanaba’s controversial orders.

Annie only heard Mikasa’s scream as they climbed up to the third floor, and she felt her heart tighten as what she had feared most of all became a reality right in front of her.

They continued along with grim faces and wary steps. Ymir felt a twinge of sympathy for Annie, since she understood how she felt, but she was in no mood to comfort her, especially when Krista was still out there, waiting for her.

The third floor was not as exciting as the second, but was full of gambling areas nonetheless. The rows were not as tight as was the case with the slot machines, and each woman watched their steps to avoid falling for another trap. Salmoneus had caught them unawares once, and it would not happen again. Annie shone her light at their feet, and Ymir around.

Petra trembled slightly from what had just occurred, but steeled herself once more. Mikasa had been such a sweetheart, and ever the helpful hand. Losing her was a blow to Petra, as would have been the case with losing any friends. Loss never became easier after any amount of times.

Ymir paused when she heard a noise. There was a distinct clicking sound, and it echoed throughout the room. It was very unsettling. It also annoyed the hell out of her.

With a glare, she tried to locate the source with her flashlight, and was unprepared when a corpse flew out from underneath a gambling table to chew on her flesh. Ymir raised her gun and swiftly took it out in one blow, dead centre in its forehead and killing it instantly. For good measure, she crushed its skull underneath her boot and wiped the grime off on the carpeted area of the room. The others watched with disgusted expressions.

Ymir turned to them with a grin, and laughed brokenly. “Why so serious?” she joked, shining the light against her face.

She fell face first against the floor and was pulled away from them when another zombie - who had been lurking in the shadows, only noticing them after his comrade had been annihilated - gripped her ankles with inhuman force.

Ymir twisted on her back and grit her teeth as she shot at the thing, but it was too dark and she had dropped her flashlight - her hand had tightened on the gun out of instinct and habit. She heard it before she felt it, and stretched out her arms to hold it from its shoulders as its jaw chomped in front of her aimlessly. Her nose wrinkled at the stench and her arms burned from the force she was exerting to keep it away from her pulse, but she held on.

Finally, it let go of her ankles and before it could even think to use its maggot-filled hands on her, she kicked it away from her and shakily stood up. A shaking light illuminated the reanimated corpse, and Ymir quickly took aim and fired at it. It dropped dead like its friend, and Ymir walked up to it to repeat her treatment.

Nanaba and Petra rushed to her with concern. Petra returned the flashlight to her and inspected her body for injuries, while Nanaba spoke to her urgently. Annie kept a watch for any other surprise attacks. However, she spotted a shadow moving around in the back and, with Mikasa on her mind, left to go after it. No one noticed her silent absence.

“Are you alright? Were you bitten anywhere?”

Ymir shook her head no and pushed Petra off of her delicately. Her clothes reeked and were full of blackened blood. The brunette turned on her heel and continued her pace. Nanaba and Petra followed her, and the tall freckled girl only turned her head once to shake her head and sigh.

“She left.”

Petra gasped and paled, while Nanaba grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Two of them had already been taken out, and they weren’t even in spitting distance of Nova and Krista. Would they even be able to reach her at all at this rate?

“Let’s keep moving. We have people to save.” Ymir’s voice sounded dead and tired, but her eyes were bright with vengeance. Salmoneus would pay.

Nanaba kept her cool mask on and put Petra in between her and Ymir as they ascended the next set of stairs leading to the fourth floor. They had changed their formation since now the room was far more spacious and allowed for more dangers. All they had was one flashlight left, since Annie had taken the other one with her, and Ymir had given it to Petra so she could concentrate more on fighting.

They moved with extreme caution across the room, their breath held and their bodies tense. Finally they reached the door leading up to the unauthorized VIP area where Nanaba was sure Nova and Krista were being kept in. Ymir moved forward to open the door but Petra stopped her right away.

“No! Ymir, I’ll open the door. You all have been doing so much and all I have to offer is holding this flashlight for you. No, I’ll open the door, just in case something comes out. Then you two can prepare and eliminate anything that appears.”

Nanaba nodded. “Good idea. Alright, Ymir, get ready.”

Petra smiled beautifully, and Nanaba felt the breath knock out of her lungs just as Petra reached forward for the knob. Petra’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth in shock as hundreds of volts soared through her body, immediately knocking her into unconsciousness. The door opened slowly as Petra fell to the floor.

Just before her head could hit it, Nanaba caught her form and held her close. Her fingers trembled as she desperately felt for a pulse, and because she herself was not in any right mind at this moment, she assumed the worst and grit her teeth. Ymir quickly rushed to her side before she could do anything else and pressed the blonde’s fingers against the unconscious woman’s pulse harder. A beat, two, three, and hope finally returned to Nanaba’s face. Just when all seemed to have gotten lost, her hope had returned.

“She’s alive,” Nanaba sighed in relief, leaning back on her thighs and clutching Petra to her chest. Ymir stood and looked up the stairs. She waited for Nanaba to adjust Petra’s position as she stood, and both walked up the stairs. Had it been either of them, Nanaba didn’t know what could’ve happened. At least Petra would not have to witness any of the gruesome details Nanaba was sure to see between Ymir and Salmoneus. The brunette would not leave without Salmoneus’ head on a pike.

She almost lost her, and that hit Nanaba incredibly hard. She was so grateful that they had already confessed their feelings to each other, otherwise this would have been another thing she would have had to accept and deal with. The blonde pressed a kiss to Petra’s forehead as the three entered a room that was meant for entertainment.

They had been hearing groans all along the hallway they traversed, and when they finally entered the room, Ymir’s heart dropped and her face darkened considerably.

There she was, her precious person, dangling from a rope above a cage full of those monsters. Krista was not struggling, however her gaze was not at the door, but at the bundle resting on the table at the back of the room. Nanaba’s heart rate picked up when she noticed and resisted the urge to act on her maternal impulse and rush forward.

Ymir trembled in her rage and pointed her gun at where she knew Salmoneus was. The bastard creeped out of the shadow with a malicious grin. Ymir glared at him so fiercely that he paused in his steps, tilted his head and widened his grin. He stretched out his arms as though welcoming his guests.

“Welcome to my Forest of Giants,” Salmoneus arrogantly announced, “and welcome to your deaths.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	25. Chapter 25

In any other situation Annie would have scolded herself for acting so recklessly, especially when so much was at stake, but with her lover gone and the despair swallowing her whole she could barely think straight. She barely thought at all when she had followed that shadow through a door and down the stairs. It was moving fast, but Annie recognized its form. Her instincts were sharp even if her mind had dulled due to her heart having been shattered.

She needed something to take her intense emotions out on, and if she could do that by taking one of their enemies out, then that was one more point for them.

The shadow in front was very much like a cloud of blackness slinking through the darkness. It could only be Jezebel, and this was confirmed when Annie caught a glint of her double bladed weapon in the passing moonlight. She kept behind her by pressing her back to the wall and held her breath when she could.

Jezebel hadn’t noticed her yet, and if she had then she showed no inclination. She was obviously going somewhere specific, but she was heading down instead of up. Shouldn’t she be by Salmoneus’ side right now, considering what was happening? Annie felt that something definitely didn’t make sense here.

But then Jezebel reached a hole in the floor and she paused in front of it, and Annie’s blood turned cold. That was where Mikasa had fallen, and there was no sound emanating from her or the zombies. There was absolute silence. Jezebel crouched down by the edge and peered down, but then she titled her head and glanced right over at Annie.

The blonde had known that the woman was aware of her presence; she just wondered why Jezebel had taken so long to let her know. This had to be some plan by that bastard. Was she playing right into his hands by following his puppet back here? What if Jezebel would simply toss her in there too?

At least she could be by Mikasa’s side then, no matter what state she was in, if she was still in any sort of state after… after…

Annie couldn’t mentally finish the thought and she pushed off from the wall to properly reveal herself. She replaced her gun for her blades and displayed them threateningly out in front of her. Her blue eyes, normally cold as ice, shone like the blazing fires of hell. The intense anger in them made Jezebel the slightest bit nervous, but she made no hint to it and straightened. Her own weapon steadied in her hands and her eyes narrowed.

Half of her face was hidden, like it had always been, and Annie still didn’t know what the woman truly looked like. All she could deduce was that she had black hair and dark brown eyes. Every other feature was covered by black material, including her hands.

“What are you doing here?” Annie asked loudly. She was about ready to attack at any second, but she felt a need to calm herself a bit first. Her hands were shaking so badly that it was made obvious by the trembling of her blades. Jezebel could see it, Annie knew that, but she didn’t care.

Jezebel’s eyes narrowed further than they had originally been and she took a few steps to the side, causing Annie to do the same in the opposite direction. They started to round each other and Annie avoided looking into the pit. If Mikasa was there, torn to shreds then she might just let Jezebel end her there.

“Answer me!” Annie yelled.

Jezebel continued to stare, silent and obviously unwilling to answer. Suddenly she sprang forward and their blades clashed with sparks. Annie grit her teeth and her arms trembled underneath the force of Jezebel’s blades.

“I came here,” Jezebel finally answered while staring emotionlessly into Annie’s ferocious eyes, “to remove trash.”

Annie’s blood began to boil. They were only _trash_ to these people?

Jezebel used every ounce of her strength to knock Annie back and pin her to the wall behind her. She pressed the blunt edge of her weapon to Annie’s throat merely to keep her in place.

“You people are monsters,” Annie snarled.

Jezebel barely blinked. “I’ll repeat what I said earlier, but listen closely.” She leaned forward until she was completely within Annie’s personal space. “I came here to remove _trash_ ,” the way she emphasised her point made Annie’s brows furrow, though her mind was slowly regaining itself and starting to think logically again.

“I heard you the first time,” Annie responded angrily. Was this woman stupid?

Jezebel smirked, though Annie couldn’t see it. “You didn’t,” she said. “So I’ll say it one more time.” Her dark eyes held Annie’s firmly and she took a deep breath before whispering her share once more, though this time much more seriously. “I came here to remove trash.”

Annie’s eyes widened as she finally understood, and then her heart sputtered when somewhere down the passage Mikasa’s anguished yell echoed against the walls.

XxX

Salmoneus’ arms dropped to his side and he sighed sadly, dramatically. He strode confidently over to a large table in the centre of the room and then he took a seat at the head and indicated for Ymir to do the same.

“I was hoping your little group would have been taken out by my traps, but it seems one escaped.” He grinned and glanced at Petra in Nanaba’s arms. “Let me guess, she found my doorknob trick, didn’t she? Is she alive?” When Nanaba didn’t respond Salmoneus laughed loudly. He then looked back to the blonde woman and squinted. “You look familiar, have I seen you before?”

Nanaba’s arms tightened around Petra and she gave one short shake of her head, but Salmoneus seemed unconvinced. He then suddenly laughed and pointed over at Nova after realizing why Nanaba seemed familiar.

“Are you the one that created that awful creature?” he said while pointing at the still distressed baby.

“That is my daughter, yes, and I will be taking her back.”

“Oh?” Salmoneus pulled a gun from his coat and pressed the edge of the barrel to his lips. “I don’t much care about you or the brat, and frankly I have half a mind to kill you now. What I want is her,” he pointed at Ymir, “crushed and destroyed in the palm of my hand.” He stood and then slammed his closed fists onto the table. All humour drained from his face in an instant. “So sit the fuck down Ymir, and let’s play a little game.”

Ymir’s mouth felt absolutely dry but she was trembling with rage. More than anything she wanted to put a bullet in the man’s head, but she knew that she couldn’t do something that impulsive. There was no telling what other “tricks” he had set in place.

“Whatever,” Ymir responded tonelessly and took a seat where Salmoneus had ordered her to. She grit her teeth hard at having to obey the bastard.

Meanwhile Nanaba took a good look around the area. The room was large and once filled with many chairs, but they had either been moved away from the table or stacked against the wall. It was obvious that this was Salmoneus’ doing.

From where she hung Krista watched with tears pouring down her face. The relief at seeing her girlfriend again had been overwhelming and Krista had almost called out for her, but she understood why Ymir hadn’t glanced at her again. Her chest felt on fire, with anger and love and relief and guilt. When she noticed Nanaba watching her she sent Nanaba a sorrowful gaze and hoped the blonde woman would see the apology in her eyes. She couldn’t escape and now Nova was left alone where she could easily hurt herself. Krista also worried greatly for Petra because she hadn’t moved at all after they had entered. What had happened to her, and were there others that had come with them?

Nanaba’s eyes softened at Krista’s apologetic gaze and she wished that she could go over to her and assure her that her worries were for naught. She wasn’t mad at her and in fact she was extremely proud and grateful. Who else would have done so much for a child that wasn’t even theirs?

Nova, from where she lay alone on the table, uttered noises of distress and waved her arms in an attempt to alert someone of her feelings. She had cried so much already that she was ready to fall asleep, but she was sensitive to the hostile emotions around her and was scared. Even if she didn’t understand a thing, she could still feel what was happening around her. She could also feel Nanaba’s presence, and she was confused as to why her daddy hadn’t picked her up yet.

Nanaba wanted to. She so badly wanted to go over to her baby and hold her in her arms, but when she tried her luck and started walking towards her Salmoneus had snarled and aimed his weapon not at Nanaba, but at Nova.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Nanaba immediately paused and sent the man the most hatred filled glare she could. There was absolutely nothing she could do with a gun pointed at her child, so she obeyed when Salmoneus growled for her to find a chair and sit a distance away behind Ymir. Once Nanaba was out of the way his face brightened, but there was still a dangerous darkness lurking underneath his expression.

“Now, let’s get down to business.” Salmoneus announced. The revolver in his hand looked old and was coated in dried blood and other substances. The black haired man removed all of the bullets and then shot a grin at Ymir. “Ever heard of Russian roulette?”

Ymir’s heart leaped into her throat, especially when Salmoneus placed one round into the cylinder and gave it a hearty spin. Before he slid the gun over to Ymir he smartly laid all of his cards out on the table, in case she decided to pull anything with the gun.

“In case you or that blondie over there get any smart ideas, look at this.” He removed a small remote from his pocket and allowed Ymir to see it. “I had Jezebel place a small bomb on the chains keeping your blonde from falling into those zombie’s hands. Anger me and I’ll push this button. When I do, ‘poof’! Your little girlfriend falls to her death, understood?”

Ymir had the fabric of her pants clutched tightly in her fists and she trembled, but she decided to stop acting like a fool and collect herself. She needed a cool head for this or she would be the reason that she lost Krista. So Ymir sent a defiant smirk over to Salmoneus and leaned back in her chair.

“Sure, let’s play then.”

Salmoneus sucked in a deep breath. It was exactly that defiance that ate at him so. He absolutely hated it and suddenly wanted to skip past all of the theatrics to get to the part where he had Ymir’s blood on his hands. But that would defeat the purpose of having set all of the entertainment up. With a sigh Salmoneus shrugged his anger off and slid the gun over to Ymir, who caught it swiftly in a steady hand.

“Oh and by the way, if you fail to pull the trigger I’ll press the button,” Salmoneus added. “And if you die I’ll press it anyway.” 

Ymir’s jaw clenched but she kept her eyes hard and pressed the muzzle of the gun to her temple. Her hand did not shake but her heart certainly did. She was not afraid to die, but if she did Krista was as good as dead too. The thought of being taken out like that so early on made Ymir swallow thickly.

_What fucking choice do I have? If I don’t she dies, if I die she dies. There is only an off chance that I don’t blow my brains out. Shit, shit, shit. If only Annie and Mikasa were here, those fucking assholes. We could have used one of them to snipe him or something. SHIT. I swear to god I’m going to beat this fucker until he barely recognizes himself._

After her internal yelling, which had only taken a few seconds, Ymir looked squarely into Salmoneus’ amused eyes and then without hesitation she pulled the trigger.

Nanaba curled into Petra but then breathed a heavy sigh of relief when there was no loud shot and Ymir had been lucky to shoot an empty round.

Salmoneus clapped his hands but he seemed displeased. “No hesitation. I’ve never seen that much stupidity in one person.” He then grinned and pointed a finger over to Nanaba. “Since you pass round one, onto round two. Point the gun at your friend and shoot. If she dies, I let the blonde fall into the pit of zombies and the same rule applies if you refuse to go along with my order.”

Her own life being at stake had been scary enough, but now she had to shoot Nanaba? What the fuck would she do if there was a bullet in there and she managed to shoot her? Unless she shifted her aim at the last minute and missed… 

“By the way, if you shoot a loaded round and miss, your darling dies too.”

_Fuck, is this bastard in my head or something?_

“Ymir.” Nanaba had gently placed Petra down into the seat and she approached the brunette. Her expression was grim but her eyes were determined. “Do it. It’s okay.”

Ymir stood too and turned to face the blonde. She had so many protests and so many reasons why Nanaba sacrificing herself for Ymir and Krista when she had someone much more important to save was stupid as fuck, but she couldn’t voice any of it. They had no fucking plan and Salmoneus had them by the balls.

Nanaba nodded gently when she saw the turmoil building in Ymir’s eyes. She then reached out and took Ymir’s hand that held the gun, and then pressed the muzzle to her forehead.

“Do it.”

Without more than a second’s hesitation Ymir pulled the trigger and she and Nanaba both tensed. When no bullet killed her Nanaba slumped in relief and lifted a shaking hand to her face.

Salmoneus stood from his seat and clapped, but the act itself felt more like a mock than applause. “My, my, such devotion. How sad is it that she could have so easily killed you for someone else?”

Nanaba’s eyes hardened. “It had to be done and I would never have been angry at her. We will do anything for the people we love.”

Salmoneus rolled his eyes. “And love is such a solid concept,” he said sarcastically. “But well done.” He then suddenly kicked the chair he had been sitting in over and smoothed his hair back. “For a fake game that was entertaining.” His grin was malicious and ugly.

“Fake?” Ymir snarled. She suddenly flipped the cylinder open and growled angrily when she saw no bullet. He had fucking played them from the start. What was the point of this, even? Was he that sick that he enjoyed seeing people tear themselves apart?

“Jezebel?” Salmoneus called while his guests fumed at his actions. He felt very satisfied with himself. Was it that difficult to notice that he had merely pretended to insert that one bullet? These people were really starting to annoy but amuse him, and if the freckled bitch was ready to shoot herself for her blonde twit, then what else was she willing to do? Salmoneus grinned at the thought.

Jezebel entered the large room through a door by the stage carrying a bag in her hands. Something was leaking from the bottom of the bag and Krista’s eyes widened when the woman passed her, because she recognized the dripping stuff as blood.

“And what do you bring for me, Jezebel?”

Jezebel did not answer him but she tossed the bag onto the table when she reached them. It landed on the table with a thud and Ymir and Nanaba immediately clenched their teeth and looked away when two heads rolled out.

One had blonde hair and the other had black.

Salmoneus went over to inspect the severed heads and did not touch them, but he bellowed in insane laughter. “I only sent her out to collect a few of the skinners! It feels like Christmas!”

Nanaba looked over at the heads again and her stomach churned. Damnit, Annie and Mikasa! Why the hell hadn’t she gone after Annie when she had disappeared? It was bad enough that they had lost Mikasa, but now Annie too? This was all happening so quickly that for a moment Nanaba’s world turned. The situation seemed a lot bleaker, and despite her decision to change fate to her will, she suddenly felt like there was no escape. They had hoped to come in here and battle Salmoneus to the end, and then rescue their loved ones and escape. Why hadn’t they expected the man to pull these awful tricks?

Ymir gripped onto Nanaba’s arm when the taller woman swayed slightly. “Get a hold of yourself, shit hasn’t gone down yet,” Ymir told her steadily. “There is still hope.”

Nanaba clutched at her mouth but nodded. She was intensely glad that Petra wasn’t awake for this, because she surely would have been devastated. And she still would be once they told her that Mikasa and Annie had died in this mission. This whole thing was making Nanaba tired, and when she glanced over at Nova who was just quietly crying, her heart began to ache.

“Ymir!” Krista suddenly shouted. “I’m so sorry for everything! Please get Nova and leave. I’m not worth killing yourself over! I got us into this mess!”

Ymir trembled with rage and glanced over at her love. “Don’t you fucking tell me to leave you, Krista!” She felt Nanaba’s comforting hand cover her shoulder. “I will save you and Nova and we will leave here together!”

“But Annie and Mikasa… they… they’ve already died! After everything I can’t let you die for me!”

Ymir’s intense glare softened considerably, and if she had been allowed to she would have approached Krista. “But I would, because I value your life above mine. You’ve given me a meaning to live, so why-”

“Can you shut the fuck up, please?” Salmoneus roared. “Enough with this idiotic promise of love! You’re all a bunch of fucking idiots! Jezebel, bring them in.” Jezebel nodded shortly and headed for the large double doors to the side of the room. As she walked she cast a glance at Krista and when the blonde looked her way she made sure to lock their gazes.

“We are the idiots?” Ymir asked softly. She took a few steps towards the bastard, her fists trembling and aching. “You are the fucking idiot! You’re nothing more than a festering sore and no one, absolutely fucking no one would be sad to see you die a horrible death!”

Salmoneus’ face turned red from rage and he bounded forward to savagely grab at the front of Ymir’s shirt. He produced a new gun from his coat and pressed it to Ymir’s throat. This time Ymir knew that the gun was loaded and she swallowed, but she refused to let this make her back down.

“Are you fucking stupid? You don’t anger the guy that has your life in his hands.”

Jezebel entered the room with a few of the dead chained like dogs. Their jaws snapped and they groaned horribly as they followed the living woman and she pulled them. When Salmoneus heard them his evil smirk broadened.

“I’m going to fucking press this button, and let you watch her get eaten before I feed you to them too!” he yelled. “I’m done with these games!”

Ymir faltered when her eyes flicked over to Krista. How the fuck could she get out of this? Why couldn’t she just keep her big mouth shut?

Nanaba immediately rushed over to Petra and pulled the unconscious woman into her arms. She backed up as Jezebel approached, but paused when the woman glanced her way.

Ymir was starting to feel the panic consume her. Despair and hopelessness clawed at her heart, but before any emotions could really pull her down the freckled teen noticed something that made her heart race.

“Any last words, bitch?” Salmoneus snarled. When Ymir merely grinned at him his eyes clouded over in confusion and anger.

“Yeah, goodnight.” Ymir said and then she pulled her arm back and punched Salmoneus right in the nose. The bone cracked and blood gushed out as he stumbled back. Before he could use it Ymir kicked the gun from his hand and then she kicked him in the jaw and sent him flying backwards.

“Ah, _fuck!_ Jezebel, lower the girl!” Salmoneus screamed as she scrambled to his feet and pressed a hand to his bleeding nose. His eyes widened to saucers when Jezebel disobeyed his orders and actually helped Krista down from the chains. Ymir was already there and she shoved Jezebel out of the way to embrace the small blonde. Jezebel didn’t act at all and glanced over at Salmoneus with a look she had never graced him with before.

The zombies that Jezebel had guided into the room went rabid. They started straight for Nanaba, Salmoneus and for those on the stage. Jezebel immediately jumped down and started cutting heads off but she wasn’t close enough to kill those approaching Nanaba.

The blonde woman also noticed with absolute panic that her daughter was alone on the table, and a zombie was stumbling determinedly towards her.

“Nova!” Nanaba screamed as loudly as she could. Krista and Ymir glanced up at the sound and noticed the situation, but there was nothing they could do. Ymir picked Krista up in her arms and started to back away and Krista started to sob.

Suddenly a black blur appeared in front of Nova and the zombie’s head went flying. It uttered a last gurgle as its head rolled along the floor and disappeared underneath a chair.

Nanaba’s eyes widened. “Mikasa?!”

Mikasa smiled in relief and inclined her head towards Nova. “Take her, I’ll fight the rest.” She bounded off to join Jezebel in fighting more of the dead. Though she looked exhausted and was covered in tattered clothes that were matted with thick blood, Mikasa looked alive and well. What was even more surprising was when Annie appeared too and joined her lover to fight back-to-back.

Nanaba didn’t have time to stop and gap, though, because Salmoneus had now started for Nova. If he couldn’t destroy Ymir then he would do _something_ to break her, even if it meant ripping that child apart. He hurried through the zombies, shoving them and kicking them out of his way, and nearly made it to the crying baby girl, but then Nanaba grabbed him by his collar and threw him against a wall.

“You aren’t laying a finger on her,” Nanaba growled so lowly that Nova actually startled.

Ymir had hurried to Nanaba’s side and was holding onto Petra while the blonde went to rescue her daughter, which she was swiftly doing.

Nanaba couldn’t contain her anger and when Salmoneus gained his footing she punched him in the face, kneed him in the stomach and then elbowed him painfully in the spine when he bent over. After he toppled to the floor in agony she kicked him roughly in the ribs, satisfied at the sound of cracking bones, and then she flipped him over and sat on top of him. She punched him again and again, using both of her fists, over and over. Salmoneus had no means to protect himself and started to cry because of the pain.

Nanaba was seeing red and she wouldn’t have stopped for a long while if Ymir hadn’t suddenly shoved her off of the man and pinned her to the ground until she calmed down.

“Snap out of it, dumbass!” Ymir yelled. “It’s over!”

All of the zombies had been killed and Mikasa was holding Petra while Krista had retrieved Nova. Nanaba finally regained her senses and shoved Ymir off so that she could hurry to Krista and accept the blonde baby.

Nova didn’t care that her daddy’s hands were broken and bleeding, she was just too happy to see her. The little girl smiled so beautifully that Nanaba broke down and cried. She held the small blonde protectively to her chest and cried softly against her tiny shoulder. Nova sensed the mood and started to wail too. It would have been amusing to see father and daughter crying so in sync if the situation hadn’t been so serious.

“Guys, we need to leave.” Mikasa gestured towards the door but paused.

“Wait,” a strong and familiar voice sounded from the double doors and everyone looked to see Erwin stride confidently into the room. Hanji skipped by his side and her eyes widened when she saw the situation.

“Are we late?” she asked in shock.

Ymir managed to chuckle. “What are you doing here?”

Erwin looked at her for a moment. “We came to get you. At least it seems everything worked out.” He looked to Jezebel but ignored her as he walked to Salmoneus. The man was still lying on the floor on his back, defeated and bloody. “Everyone should follow Hanji to the car outside; I’d like to talk to this man before we leave.”

“But…” Ymir started.

“We will explain everything later,” Erwin assured.

“Come on guys, before anything else shows up.” Hanji encouraged. She bit her lip when she noticed Petra and accepted the unconscious orange-blonde into her arms.

Everyone followed Hanji out of the doors, and Ymir cast one more hateful glance towards Salmoneus before she pulled Krista tightly against her side and followed the bespectacled woman outside of the casino.

Revenge was still on her mind but Krista was more important. Having her love back drained her of her bloodlust, and all she wanted to do now was to just hold Krista and never let her go. She was also sure that with the way that Jezebel loomed over him, Salmoneus wouldn’t be making it out alive that night, and that knowledge helped her to leave feeling satisfied.

XxX

After everyone had left Jezebel had wordlessly tied Salmoneus to a chair. Though the man was in agonizing pain and he could barely see, he was seething at her betrayal. More than that he was irritated at this man that had so suddenly waltzed in and demanded to talk to him. What could he possibly have wanted to talk about?

When had Salmoneus’ control suddenly ceased to work?

Erwin folded his arms behind his back and clasped his hands together. He had observed the last few moments before the ordeal had ended, so he knew of Jezebel seemingly betraying her master. But, that was not of his concern right now and he was here to ask something important.

“I have something to ask you,” Erwin announced.

Salmoneus lifted his head and snorted as best as he could. “And why would I answer?”

Erwin’s expression didn’t change and he ignored the response. “We are aware of you having placed a bomb on the wall. Did you place many more after the first?”

Salmoneus eyes narrowed and then he grinned and laughed. “Nope!” he exclaimed after a loud bellow of laughter. “I will admit to placing the first one, but that was it. I’m not your culprit.”

Erwin frowned. Salmoneus was talking the truth, Erwin was certain. A man like him would have boasted about his evil deeds. “Alright, that is all I needed to know.” Erwin offered a nod to Jezebel and then left to follow the others.

“Wait, you believe me just like that? What the hell!?” Salmoneus yelled but he was ignored. The black haired man growled furiously and glanced up at Jezebel. She was giving him a soft, sorrowful gaze. “Don’t fucking pity me, you bitch! You betrayed me! Why the fuck didn’t you follow the plan?”

Salmoneus was foaming at the mouth due to his anger and he had most likely lost his mind. Jezebel sighed softly and moved forward to caress his face.

“You lost yourself,” she said. She then lifted her blade to his throat. “I don’t think you’ll ever find yourself again, and I’ve been looking so hard. I let you turn into a monster so it’s my responsibility to end it.”

From the very start of the apocalypse Jezebel had noticed the changes happening with Salmoneus. The humour he often had in his eyes disappeared and was replaced by seething hatred and greed. With the others around Jezebel hadn’t been able to stop Salmoneus, but them meeting those kids had solved her problem. She had allowed Salmoneus to turn into what he had become and he was no longer the man she had fallen in love with. Merely looking at his face had become something disgusting and shameful. With all of his dumb followers gone, Jezebel could now do what she should have done months before.

Before Salmoneus could swear at her again Jezebel cut a clean line from one ear to the other and she watched sadly as the man choked and sputtered until his heart stopped beating.

XxX

A pleasant, alien sensation filled Petra’s ears as she slowly slipped back into consciousness. The sound drew her out, comforted her in a blanket of warmth and happiness. She sighed in content and snuggled closer to the actual warmth against her body, but then her memories crashed down on her. She did now outwardly react but she slowly opened her eyes, and when she saw Nanaba’s face above her, she breathed out in relief.

Nanaba looked okay, and the atmosphere was more than pleasant, which was odd and confused Petra until she took a glance around. They were in the Jeep and in the front Mikasa was busy driving while she diligently held a sleeping Annie’s hand, who was in the seat beside her. Petra was immensely relieved to see that the two were okay.

Something on top of her suddenly shifted and Petra felt something grab onto her shirt, and when she looked down she nearly cried out in happiness. Nova, sleeping happily and content, was resting on Petra’s chest. Petra herself was cradled on Nanaba’s lap and in her arms. The blonde woman eventually noticed that Petra had woken when she heard a tiny sniffle.

“Petra,” Nanaba said with slightly widened eyes. Her surprise melted to happiness and she leaned down to kiss Petra gently on the lips. Petra’s wet eyes slid shut and she lifted a hand to run it through the blonde’s hair. When they parted Nanaba pressed their foreheads together and released a sigh of happiness. “I’m so happy that you’re okay. We’ve all been so worried.”

Petra smiled. “I’m guessing that things turned out for the better, but what happened?”

Nanaba glanced over to her left at the other couple occupying the back seat. She smiled affectionately. Ymir was fast asleep and Krista was pressed tightly to her chest. Both of them had refused to let go of the other and when they had gotten into the Jeep they had just curled up together and silently embraced one another.

The tall blonde woman caressed a finger down Nova’s soft, warm cheek. “We’ll explain later. Erwin and Hanji are in the car in front of us.” Petra looked and noticed that there was in fact a car driving in front. It was still dark so all she could see was the back of the car and the tail lights. “Erwin has a lot to explain to us too, but he promised that he would. For now you should rest because I don’t want you to exert yourself if you’re still hurt.”

Petra gasped lightly. “Love, what happened to your hands?” She gently gripped onto Nanaba’s hands and inspected the split skin over her knuckles. Her worries calmed when Nanaba merely chuckled and kissed her softly on the forehead, effectively making her heart flutter.

“We’ll explain everything later. Get some more rest. All I know is that we’re heading north.”

Petra noticed Ymir and Krista then too, and her heart lightened considerably. She decided to follow Nanaba’s request and closed her eyes. Nova snored softly, which sounded amusingly similar to Nanaba’s snore though Nova’s was a lot softer and cuter. Petra smiled through her happy tears and while she wondered about what going north meant, she also finally noticed that the pleasant sound from earlier had been music playing in the car.

As simple as it seemed, it felt like a miracle to hear music after everything that had happened. But at least they were all alive. Thank goodness that they were alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	26. Chapter 26

Erwin stared down the road as he drove steadily. His eyes were wide and alert, but his mind was focused on what had occurred after leaving Salmoneus. He had spoken to Jezebel after she had walked out of the casino with blood on her clothes. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any hordes to ambush them, and so they could take their time to plan their route.

Erwin remembered their conversation clearly. He had wanted to arrest her for her crimes in Sina, but with no more law upheld in the land, and because of the fact that she had saved their lives, Erwin decided to let this one go. Instead, he focused on pulling out as much information as possible.

_Jezebel stopped in front of the group and watched as Mikasa held Annie back from attacking her. True, Jezebel had saved them, but Annie hadn’t forgiven her for the humiliation from before._

_“He has been dealt with,” Jezebel announced, “and I shall take my leave. Good luck.” She turned on her heel and made to dash away, but Erwin placed a hand on her shoulder. She twisted her neck to look him in the eye, and he kept his gaze steady._

_“Wait, I need to speak with you,” he paused, looking back at the women, “privately.”_

_The assassin nodded, since she didn’t really have a choice in the matter - Erwin was simply a man to be respected and obeyed - and followed the blonde man to the grand fountain. Once out of earshot of the others, Erwin turned to Jezebel and crossed his arms._

_“Salmoneus is dead?”_

_Jezebel didn’t even flinch. “Yes.”_

_“Why did you kill him? I thought you worked for him.”_

_“I did, but I could not stand to see who he had become. His body was healthy, but his mind was rotten. He would have perished between the dead’s jaws had I not killed him. I had the perfect opportunity, and I took it.”_

_“You also had the perfect opportunity to kill us all.”_

_“That is true, and I still do.”_

_Erwin frowned heavily and tensed. “I wouldn’t try anything if I were you.”_

_Jezebel merely stared coldly through his fiery glare. “I have no intention of orphaning an infant, and I do not believe in senselessly killing. I kill those that cannot function in this world, and those that stand in my way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be going. The undead are not patient.”_

_Erwin put his hand up and shook his head. “No, I need to ask one more thing. Please.”_

_Jezebel closed her eyes and leaned against the fountain. “Ask away.”_

_Erwin pressed his lips together and sighed heavily. “Listen, I know Salmoneus planted that bomb at Sina, but that’s not true, is it?”_

_Jezebel shook her head. “No, I did it.”_

_Erwin unfolded his arms and nodded. “I thought so. Would you happened to have planted the other ones as well?”_

_The assassin, to his surprise, shook her head once more. “No, my Lord was telling the truth - we were responsible for the first one, but the other ones were merely coincidence.”_

_“Shit,” Erwin muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose, “how did those rebels get access to explosives?”_

_“If I may?” Erwin raised an eyebrow but made motion for her to continue. “I believe this was not caused by the rebels, but something far more sinister. The rebels of Sina simply wanted to eliminate the threat to the city, and also wanted to keep themselves away from any sort of power that could destroy their safety. They have absolutely no reason to destroy the only thing allowing them to sleep safely at night._

_“Hence, I believe that there is another group out there with far more destructive goals than we could even think to understand. Who knows? These people might have released the infection in the first place.”_

_Erwin allowed this hypothesis to sink in before considering it. “If so, where could they possibly hide? Who could allow such a thing?”_

_“That’s for you to find out. I have no intention of playing hero. My place is in the shadows, as it always has been. Salmoneus is gone, and I must find a new purpose.”_

_“Come with us, you could use the safety.”_

_Jezebel seemed to have smiled under her mask, and let out a quiet chuckle. “No, but thank you for the kind offer. I prefer to travel alone. Good luck on your travels, and stay alert.”_

Jezebel had left him with more questions than answers, and a worrying development. Another group seeking to make the world rot? Would they ever be safe from these endless horrors? How could they find shelter if there was always a looming danger ready to crush them? Would Nova have to grow in an age of terror and death?

The blonde man allowed his thoughts to consume him as he continue the steady pace to Snowpeak. Beside him, Hanji snored in her sleep and muttered something about her friends back in Sina. She made kissing noises in her sleep and jumped every so often, quietly scolding the person in her dreams. Erwin didn’t even want to know what she was thinking of.

After saving Nova and Krista from Salmoneus’ evil clutches, Erwin had decided that they should make their way to the secret bunkers to the north. The only problem was: they didn’t know where the hell to find them. No exact coordinates were given, just a vague area which would point to the direction of the bunkers. Hanji had tried to establish communications with them, but to no avail - though she had recorded their channel’s frequency, she could not get a clear signal to communicate with the transmitter.

And so, Erwin decided they should just follow the road and see where it took them. The last thing they heard from the radio was that the location of the bunkers was somewhere near Snowpeak. Snowpeak was a small town that was occupied by military and their families, and the town was named so for it was the only town in which it snowed, and its background was a large mountain range that stretched from the east to the west.

They had been driving for a full day already, resting for a few hours before returning to the road. So far, they hadn’t encountered many problems other than the stray horde that seemed to have wandered from a nearby settlement, be it a lonely cottage or a stop for travellers. In the other car, Mikasa drove dutifully behind Erwin and stayed vigilant behind the wheel. Occasionally, she spoke with Annie, who was seated comfortably in the passenger seat, but the ride was mostly quiet.

In the back of the car, the others were either sleeping, eating or chatting. Luckily, they had managed to keep themselves entertained with Nova, who babbled happily and gurgled for every loving question asked. The baby appreciated the attention very much. However, all were sleeping, since it was rather early in the morning. The skies were tinted pink as the sun rose. It was a new day.

Ymir grunted and tightened her grip on Krista when the car hit a pothole and jumped. She nuzzled against the blonde’s throat and sighed in contentment. Ymir felt totally at peace. Finally, she had Krista in her arms after having lost her for so long. This was expressed in her dreams, though in a more… provocative manner.

_The brunette lied on her bed, simply staring up at the ceiling with her arms behind her head. She felt like she was floating, but at the same time, as though she were stuck to the bed. The sheets felt glued to her body, and she remained rigid and motionless._

_However, what happened next made her wish she wasn’t immobile._

_The sound of a door opening made her try to lift her head and identify the person intruding on her relaxation, but the voice that rang like a sweet melody through her ears eliminated the need for sight._

_“Ymir.”_

_There was something strange about the tone Krista had laced with her name. Something different, something… sensual. The brunette decided to ignore it for the time being._

_Ymir felt herself smirk and hid her annoyance at not being able to greet her girlfriend properly. “Krista. Hey.”_

_The blonde moved across the room, to Ymir’s form, and sat on the edge of the bed. Ymir sputtered in shock and trailed her eyes down. Krista was completely bare, and seemed totally confident in her lack of attire. Of course, Ymir found this incredibly sexy, but this raised alarms in her head. Since when did Krista act like this?_

_“Ymir.” Her tone was more pressing, more urgent. Ymir started to wonder if there was a problem, but that thought was chased away when Krista ghosted the tips of her fingers over her lips. Ymir’s mind drew a blank and her arousal started to make itself known against the fabric of her boy shorts. She wanted to touch the blonde’s tempting breasts, caress the soft skin that emitted such wonderful warmth, trail her lips down until she could dip her tongue into pure nirvana. However, her body remained stiff, and her actions impossible._

_Slowly, Ymir felt Krista shift and move her hands down her body, pulled out a knife, and tore her clothes. Krista then straddled her love and bent down, nearing the brunette’s lips. Ymir’s breath hitched and her heart skipped a beat, and she was too tired to lean up. She could feel her sweet breath, and just before she could taste those equally delicious lips, her body was lifted from the bed by a violent quake._

Blinking her eyes open, Ymir scowled to control the blush on her cheeks and the wetness between her thighs. Sex didn’t bother Ymir, she never felt shy about it. So what was up with her blushing like this from an almost-kiss? Maybe it was because Ymir desperately wanted to experience that with Krista - going all the way and indulging in their love. She wanted to make love to the blonde she had nearly lost forever, to show her exactly how much she loved her - an immeasurable amount that surpassed any possible estimation.

Ymir tightened her arms once more around the blonde and brooded while looking out the window. There was no way they would ever be able to get some alone time, so Ymir didn’t foresee her desires materialising for a long while.

“Sorry.” Mikasa’s apology was monotone, but sincere. The road was horrible up north, since all the traffic was mainly in the south of the country and the government refused to put money where the least amount of interest was.

“It’s alright,” Ymir mumbled, watching the dull scenery pass by. She noticed that the farther they went north, the more the geography shifted. Pine trees replaced oak trees, tundra replaced fields, and snow replaced rain. Granted, the snow wasn’t too heavy, but it was different than what they were used to. Ymir had seen snow a couple of times, but this had a different meaning. Ymir embraced the new beginning she was given gratefully.

Beside the couple, Petra and Nanaba kept close with Nova in between. All three were fast asleep, and were very content with their sleeping arrangements. Nova clung to her daddy’s clothes and cuddled against her.

Mikasa and Annie were relaxed as the former drove the car behind Erwin and Hanji. Other than the bumps in the road, and the occasional walker, the ride was smooth. As the snow blanketed the road, Mikasa gripped the steering wheel tightly and fully concentrated on keeping them from skidding. Annie had been woken abruptly when the car had skidded once.

They didn’t have much longer to reach Snowpeak - which Erwin had located on a map prior to starting the drive - and it was only a matter of minutes before they would arrive at their destination.

Eventually, a backdrop of snowy mountains rose slowly from the horizon. Mikasa nudged Annie, who had been daydreaming, and the blonde told the others to look ahead. Ymir woke Krista, and the blonde gasped in amazement as she stared at the tall structures of rock and ice. The snow was falling more heavily now, though not enough to threaten their progress.

“It’s beautiful,” Krista whispered, cuddling against the brunette. Ymir leaned her head against Krista’s as she leaned a bit over Annie’s seat.

“Mm, yeah, it’s cool,” Ymir agreed nonchalantly.

Krista giggled and closed her eyes in bliss. “We should be there soon, Ymir. Finally, we’ll have peace.”

The brunette’s expression hardened and she stared out the window, at the expansive tundra that killed any weak-willed organism. Nothing thrived below the permafrost. Ymir likened herself as the pine tree that stood tall against the frozen earth, and the tundra itself as the apocalypse - however, it would only take a heavy storm to bring her down, and that was what Ymir feared the most. She would never feel security in the calm; her mind would be too caught up in the possibilities of danger. However, she couldn’t bear to hurt Krista’s hope after such a dramatic catastrophe, and resigned to sighing and closing her eyes.

Nanaba held Nova tightly in her arms as she blinked to consciousness. She felt dead tired - hunting for her daughter had completely drained her energy, and she felt like a good day’s worth of sleep in a fluffy bed would assuage her tension. It was completely worth it, however, once she looked down and saw Nova yawn widely and squirm in her sleep. The blonde smiled softly and kissed her daughter’s forehead. Nova opened her eyes, smiled toothlessly, and Nanaba’s heart melted on the spot.

“I love you,” Nanaba whispered, closing her eyes. “I’ll always protect you.” Nova flailed her arms and laughed delightfully, making baby noises as she responded to Nanaba in kind. The blonde woman rocked her baby back and forth. She opened her eyes and looked to the side, smiling gently.

Beside her, Petra remained sleeping, though if she had ignored Annie or simply didn’t hear her was yet to be known. Nanaba chuckled and suddenly had an idea. She carefully placed the toddler near Petra’s face, and watched amusingly as the girl leaned in front of her and touched Petra’s cheek. Then, Nova began to drool as she talked to Petra, and Nanaba slowly advanced her baby to give a sloppy kiss to her lover’s nose.

Petra smiled in her sleep, though she tried hard to hide it. Nanaba laughed when Petra opened her eyes. The orange-haired woman turned to the blonde and giggled.

“What was that?” Petra asked.

“I wanted to see if you were awake,” Nanaba answered cheekily, holding Nova against herself.

Petra shook her head then looked to the front. She gasped and her eyes widened, and she leaned closer to have a better look. Nanaba suddenly became alarmed and held Nova tighter against her. Was there more trouble to take care of now?

Thankfully, it was only surprise and not horror that coated Petra’s voice when she pointed out the gate that preluded a ruined town. The buildings weren’t too tall, and the town itself didn’t seem to be too wide. In fact, only a few houses could be seen right on the horizon, beyond the gate.

The gate was tall and held a solid, stone banner that had the faded letters of ‘SNOWPEAK’ engraved in it. The top was covered in snow, and there were chunks missing from the pillars that held the banner.

What was odd about the gate was that there was a man leaning against it, looking out towards the mountains. When he heard the cars, he jumped and hid behind the pillar. Then, he began waving wildly and smiling widely.

Erwin stopped the car short of the gate, Mikasa right behind him. Upon noticing the man, Erwin had wondered if he could find out where the bunkers were by asking him. It would be a great relief to have someone lead them to the sanctuary rather than endlessly searching for it themselves. Hanji woke the second the car stopped and readied herself.

Erwin stepped out of the car and made a motion to tell Mikasa and the others to stay inside, Hanji beside him and waving. However, Ymir ignored him and pulled Krista out with her. She didn’t want to sit around and do nothing any longer. Mikasa sighed in exasperation and Annie rolled her eyes.

Ymir ignored Erwin’s order for her to return and leaned against the other pillar beside the man. The blonde stood beside her and watched the hulk covered in fur fidget. It was incredibly amusing to watch.

The man wore a blue beanie over his brown hair, and sported a large fur coat and cotton pants tucked from the bottom into leather boots. On his back, there appeared to be a golden warhammer. His smile remained bright, even when faced with Ymir’s cold glare, and he even went to her to shake her hand. Ymir wondered if he had a couple of screws loose.

“Hi! My name’s Olaf, it’s so very nice to meet you!” He kept his arm extended and waited for Ymir to shake it, smiling brightly. When ten minutes passed, Olaf laughed and hugged the brunette instead, who sputtered in shock and pushed him away.

“I never really liked handshakes anyway - they’re too boring! Oh hi, my name’s Olaf! And you are?”

“You son of a-”

“Ymir. Her name’s Ymir, and mine is Krista,” the blonde interrupted, glaring at the brunette. Ymir blew air between her teeth in annoyance and rolled her eyes. She had wanted to intimidate the man so that they could get information out of him easier, but it seemed he was only an oblivious fool. Though he looked impressive, Ymir was not impressed with his personality.

“Oh how nice! And who are they?” Olaf clapped his hands and extended his hand out to Erwin, who shook it tightly. Olaf grimaced but laughed in amusement.

“Hello, Olaf,” Erwin said, returning his hand to his pockets. The weather was seriously cold, and they needed answers soon. Ymir and Krista huddled together to stay warm, while Hanji paid close attention to Olaf’s body language.

“We’re lost travellers, survivors really, and I’m wondering if you could help us.” Erwin paused and watched Olaf’s reactions.

The man simply grinned and swung his arms around.

“We’re looking for Snowpeak and-”

“You’re in the right place!” Olaf interrupted happily, “this is Snowpeak, home of the survivors.” Olaf paused, then smiled cheekily, “and snow.”

Ymir rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to comment, but Krista stepped on her foot and she ended up using her breath to conceal her yell of pain.

“We even have secret bunkers for survivors like you guys, if you’re interested.”

Erwin feigned surprise and widened his eyes. “Ah, perfect! We had heard a radio broadcast a while ago and-”

Olaf’s eyes widened and he jumped from foot to foot excitedly. “Radio? I need to tell Leader right away!” As though he had forgotten about them, the man turned on his heel and ran into the town.

Ymir tilted her head in wonder. “What the shit?”

Erwin sighed and turned to Hanji. “What should we do? He’s getting away, and he might know where the bunkers are. I’m still wary, of course, but we have no other option right now.”

Hanji shrugged and began walking toward the car. “Let’s follow him and see where he takes us. Ymir, tell Mikasa to follow Erwin.”

“Got it.”

Returned to the warmth of the car, Ymir informed the women of the sudden developments and gave Hanji’s directives to Mikasa. The stoic teen nodded and followed Erwin as the man drove through the town. Soon Olaf’s figure came into view, and the man was skipping down the road as he sang happily. Ymir shook her head in amusement.

The town was desolate, deserted and demented. Buildings had collapsed roofs or missing chunks from their foundation. With relief, everyone noticed that there was absolutely no sign of any zombies whatsoever. It was a ghost town, and utterly quiet. Only Olaf’s random songs echoed in the space.

Olaf turned down alleys and streets, finally coming near a building resembling a school. He entered through an opening in the bricks, lit a torch, then took off inside. The group hurriedly exited their cars and followed the man’s footsteps in the snow. Mikasa and Annie kept their weapons ready, while Nanaba held Nova - who was wrapped in blankets - tightly against her chest. Petra kept close to Nanaba and Ymir cocked her gun in preparation. Erwin led the group with Hanji at his side.

Erwin saw Olaf take a left, and quickened his pace just in time to place his foot between a door and its frame. Olaf looked up in surprise and gasped loudly.

“Oh! Hello again! I see you’re very curious - why don’t you all tag along?”

Before Olaf could go further down the stairs, Erwin grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. The torch dropped to the floor, and Hanji bent over to pick it up. She held it near Olaf’s face and watched his happy facade melt to terror.

“Where are you taking us? Where are you going?” Erwin demanded.

Olaf swallowed and smiled nervously. “I’m going back to the leader! To the bunkers - don’t you guys wanna see him too?”

“How do we know you’re taking us to the bunkers, and that you’re not just leading us to our deaths? How do we know that you didn’t just trick us to kill us?”

Olaf’s face paled and he shook his head. “No! I would never do that.” His eyes teared when he noticed Nova in Nanaba’s arms. “I would never hurt live people, especially babies!”

Hanji brought the torch closer to the man’s face, and the flames singed the tips of his hair. Olaf let out a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. When Erwin released him, he fell to the floor. He stood up shakily and accepted the torch from Hanji. His mood was brought down considerably, and he remained serious as Erwin expressed his apologies and asked him to show the way.

“No, I understand.” Olaf smiled in strained way. “No need to forgive people for valuing their lives.” He began walking down the long set of stairs, and the others followed him.

Soon, he returned to his usual exuberance and told stories about Snowpeak, his friends and the leader of the Snowpeak Fighters, the name of the soldiers that guarded the bunkers. He explained how there used to be a thriving community in Snowpeak, but after the infection broke out, people went mad. Since Snowpeak was a military base alongside a civilian town, there was a secret bunker below usually meant for instances of war, since Snowpeak bordered a nearby country as well, Olaf added.

And so, the man in charge of the military stationed in Snowpeak quickly became the leader of the town after the mayor turned out to be infected. The leader, a brave man named König, eliminated every trace of infection with help from his soldiers. All the civilians that had survived the ordeal stayed in the bunkers, which could actually support a population of five thousand, hence the secret radio broadcastings. Olaf carelessly let out information that seemed incredibly important and secretive, and Ymir seriously questioned the leader’s logic of appointing him at the gate. Maybe the man had been trying to get rid of him.

Olaf went on to explain how many had escaped the bunkers, either to go find a better place to live or because they had gone mad and could not take it anymore. Some people had died down there, and there were many families growing. The population received their supplies from looting the houses above, but, as Olaf said worriedly, they needed to find another settlement to loot from soon.

Olaf pointed out that no one left the bunkers unless they were fighters or scouts.

“And you’re a fighter?” Erwin questioned.

Olaf laughed loudly and shook his head. “No, I’m a scout.” He paused, looked back at Mikasa and Annie’s brandished swords, and grinned. “I used to be a fighter like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee!”

Ymir sighed irritably and Krista shook her head in amusement, but the group’s annoyance subsided as they slowly trekked down the hall leading from the stairs. They finally reached a heavily-bolted titanium door, packed with iron alloys designed to keep anything from coming in or going out.

Olaf knocked a special pattern against the door, and soon it was opened to reveal a similarly dressed woman who had a long sword strapped to her hip. “Olaf?”

“Heidi! Thank you _so_ much, you don’t even know how much this means to-”

“Just shut up and get in,” Heidi interrupted in annoyance. She spotted the group behind Olaf and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Oh, you brought company with you.” Suddenly, the woman’s expression, which had been mildly annoyed, soured drastically.

“Go see König, Olaf. And bring them with you.” Heidi turned on her heel and walked down one of the many hallways past the entrance.

Olaf waved in excitement and laughed. “Bye Heidi! See you later!” He turned to the others and waved his arms in dismissal. “She’s always a grump, but she actually likes me. She just doesn’t show it when she sees me, or when she’s not around me.”

“Amazing! This must stretch on for miles!” Hanji exclaimed, completely ignoring Olaf. The group had entered the foyer of the secret bunker, which was shaped in a hexagon and made of pure stone. Six hallways represented each side, with the first hallway being the entrance. A guard was stationed at every hallway, and the foyer itself was large enough to comfortably fit fifty people.

The curious woman ran ahead to go down one of the halls, but Erwin grabbed her from the back of her shirt collar and kept her grounded.

“No,” he said, “we need to meet König.”

Hanji deflated and sighed in sadness. “Aww…”

Olaf clapped his hands to gain their attention and walked down one of the halls. On the way, he explained the structure of the bunkers.

“The bunkers are twenty feet underground and occupy a radius of two miles. We’re not just located directly below the town, but also below the tundra fields for the extra mile or so,” Olaf said, placing the torch in his hand into one of the many holders lining the wall of this hallway. The hallway itself was wide enough to fit three adults at once, and there were many doors on either side.

“The six hallways have different purposes,” Olaf continued. “The entrance counts as the First Hallway. The Second, and Third are used for living purposes. Families, elderly, orphans and anyone who can’t fight stay in the Second and Third.

“The Fifth is the one we’re in now - for soldiers and scouts and our research team - the people who sent out the radio alert - and also the Leader’s headquarters, which is at the end of the hall. That room is also the war room, where a few of us meet up to talk about future plans or problems. It’s where we’re going to.

“After that, the Sixth hall has some extra rooms in case the other ones get filled, but it actually branches off to an enormous dining hall, where everyone eats and where children go to learn. Despite the apocalypse, we want the next generation to be well-educated. The other branch leads to a bunch of exercise rooms where the population goes once a day to stay fit in case of an emergency.

“The Fourth Hallway is an escape and storage room. All of our food is stored there, and there are stairs at the end of that hall that lead to a yard full of vehicles ready to go if we were ever to get overrun. It’s always locked, though, and the guard there will not let anyone but the head chef and König in.

“That’s pretty much how it all works here and - oh look, here we are! Are we all ready to meet the Leader?” Olaf grinned and opened the door.

Inside the room, there was a table with a map dotted by various markers. Four soldiers lined up in front of the table, and behind them was a big man with a heavy cloak draped over his shoulders. He had a powerful, booming voice that made Erwin straighten his back in respect, though he maintained a wary stance. So far, everything seemed to be going alright, and this was definitely the bunkers they had been searching for.

“I want all four of you to take a car and get to this town. Once there, do not try to fight or search for supplies. All I want to know is if it’s possible to retrieve material from there, so your primary duty is scouting. Understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Dismissed.”

“Sir!”

The soldiers left in a line, and the man straightened as Erwin approached him. König turned to Olaf, who waved excitedly.

“Olaf? Who are these people?” König asked.

“My name is Erwin,” the blonde answered instead, “and we would like to take refuge in your bunker. We have information that would benefit you greatly, and we contribute well.”

König raised an eyebrow and looked at the group. His sweeping glance locked onto Nova, and his face softened considerably. He turned to Olaf and waved his hand.

“Olaf, get these women rooms. Erwin and I will need to discuss further.” He looked at Nanaba specifically and handed her a note with his signature on it. “There are baby supplies in the Fourth. Take that to the guard and he’ll give them to you without question.” Nanaba nodded in thanks.

Olaf saluted him and grinned. “Aye, aye!” He suddenly grabbed Ymir and Krista and pulled them out of the room. The others followed, except for Hanji, who stayed behind to talk about the results of her research. Ymir protested and threatened to hurt the man but relented when he ignored her words. Things were suddenly happening and Ymir had no opportunity to process them.

She just hoped whatever peace they gained would last.

x

“Sina has fallen?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. Now the cattle are scrambled over the country and no longer have anywhere to hide. The slaughter will continue mercilessly.”

“Sir, what about Snowpeak?”

“Oh yes, don’t worry about that. Their time will come soon - whoever houses the cattle will end in rubble, that I assure you.”

“Should we send out the orders for Snowpeak?”

“Not yet, we still have to reap the rewards from Sina. We’ll wait a while, and then we’ll strike.”

A body fell to the floor then. The echo of a bullet resounded through the hearts of all present.

“Salmoneus was a thorn in my side - I am glad that pseudo-king has been overthrown and killed. Anyone who opposes me will bite the dust. Rognik has been leaking information for how long, again?”

“Two weeks, sir.”

“And now he’s dead. You’d best straighten your loyalties to me.”

The man stood and walked to the window in the room. Grinning eerily, he stared at a flicker of light in the distance.

“Snowpeak, soon you shall be dust beneath my feet. König, prepare yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	27. Chapter 27

After Olaf had pulled the others out and he went about showing them to available rooms, Erwin and Hanji stood motionless and waited for König to make the first move. Accepting them so readily was strange, so Erwin wanted to get right down to the deep discussions to figure out how this place worked before he allowed his people to truly settle in. He also wanted to secure trust with the leader.

König eyed them momentarily and then he took a seat at the head of the long table. With the way he gracefully dropped into the seat and then locked them into a powerful gaze, he reminded Erwin very much of a king. His cloak was draped heavily over his shoulders which further added power to his image. The material itself was dark and thick, from the looks of it, and König had the collar pulled up. If a cold wind blew up while he was outside then he most probably simply pulled his cloak shut and allowed the collar to shield the lower part of his face.

The man had black, short and curly hair. A few strings of curls fell against his forehead. His jaw and cheeks had stubble and his chin was coated with thick, black hair. His skin was equally dark, making Erwin wonder of this man’s origin. Someone living in such weather conditions did not have such dark skin unless it was hereditary. König was also built quite large. His limbs were thick and his shoulders broad, though he only looked to be an inch taller than Erwin. Underneath his cloak he wore a black military uniform, much to Erwin’s expectation. He had no weapon on him, though, but Erwin was sure that this man would know how to use his environment as a weapon instead.

“Sit,” König gestured for the seats to his right. Erwin nodded and sat down, two chairs away from the black haired man. His eyes were now visible to Erwin, and he noted with surprise that they were surprisingly green and vibrant. It was almost a colour that startled him, because he had never seen someone with eyes like that before. Though, it did remind him of a boy that used to go to his school, but in the current situation he could not remember the boy’s name or face.

Hanji favoured standing and wondered curiously through the room instead of joining the blonde man at the table. The room was large, with the only table in the room being the one occupied and it was covered in a giant map. Along the walls there were also plenty of maps; A world map and then maps detailing each country of each continent, and then each province or town. In most of the maps large areas had been circled in red and then crossed out. This struck Hanji as odd, and before she thought about it she sent a question over her shoulder.

“Why did you cross these areas out?” she asked.

Erwin tensed slightly and looked at Hanji with impatience. König looked towards her too, but he did not seem as unimpressed. The big man leaned back in his chair, propped one leg over the other and then leaned his elbow against the chair’s armrest and pressed his cheek to his palm.

“We have been keeping track of areas destroyed by the infection,” he answered.

Hanji hummed softly. “I see you’ve also crossed areas out on other maps. America, London, France and is that… South Africa?”

König sighed heavily. “Unfortunately the outbreak has spread further than we had anticipated.”

Erwin listened to the conversation quietly and his eyes widened slightly upon learning of this new information. Did that mean the entire world had fallen, not just Japan?

“Why do you think there has been no action?” König asked seriously. “Why America hasn’t sent their forces here to control the outbreak? They were the first to be hit. Japan was only the fourth country infected.”

Hanji held her breath and Erwin turned sharply. “How do you know this?” he asked.

König regarded him. “I have contacts all over the world. Friends, if you will. They managed to inform me of the situation, but only when it was too late.” König leaned forward. “Tell me, how did Sina fall? I assumed it was a fortress.”

Hanji skipped over to the other end of the room and nosily looked through documents piled upon a side table. König noticed but paid her no mind.

Erwin took a breath and then began to explain. “The moment the outbreak hit I escaped, but ended up returning to look for a lost comrade. He was nowhere to be found and I declared him dead,” König raised his eyebrows at the coldness in which Erwin handled that sentence, but chose not to comment.

“I travelled alone,” Erwin continued. “I was separated from my group. Because of that I successfully made it into Sina. At that time it was still safe, but only from the undead. The people within had not yet grasped the seriousness of the situation, and due to greed and selfishness they let the walkers in themselves. During the building tensions rebel groups had formed and once the dead invaded a war broke out. People escaped and some went into hiding. In the panic the north gate had been broken and Sina no longer remained a fortress. Since no government offered assistance and people were going crazy, no measures could be put into place. I immediately collected a group of men and women fit to help and I secured safe zones within the walls. We built barricades and blocked off where we could. After that I watched for survivors that came.” Erwin sighed and rubbed at his chin. He was reminded that he needed to shave, since he too had rough stubble prickling his skin.

“Some bad guy put a bomb on the wall after kidnapping our comrades, the bomb went off and the walls collapsed,” Hanji chimed from where she was studying the computer at the other end of the room. “Does this still work?” she asked.

König tilted his head. “It does but we try not to waste what electricity we have. Lighting is done purely by candles and we cook by flame. Generators are hard to come by.” König turned back to Erwin. “Is she always this oblivious to an atmosphere?”

Erwin managed to smile. “Since the moment I had met her.”

König chuckled. “I like you, both of you.” He leaned forward and once more put his mask of seriousness into place. “We don’t simply allow survivors to live here. If you plan to stay here with your group then I will assign positions to all of you.”

“Positions?” Hanji asked. She had finally taken a seat beside Erwin after listening to them talk and deducing that she liked the leader too. He sounded like an interesting man, and from her observations Hanji could see that he continuously tried to hide a smile or chuckle.

“For our community to thrive we all need to contribute,” König explained. “Therefore I will permit your stay if you agree to accept the roles I give you.”

This time Erwin sat forward, hands clasped together. “And what roles would these be?”

König shrugged and Erwin finally noticed the slight humour on his face too. “Whatever your people are talented in. I hope you know how they could positively contribute.” Erwin nodded. “Wonderful! Explain their skills and we can work out your positions together.”

“When are we expected to start working?”

König thought for a moment. “I will give you a week to rest and consider the deal, and then if you all accept you will become members of Snowpeak and will be expected to play your parts.”

Erwin shared a look with Hanji and she nodded. He then turned back to the man and smiled. “Deal,” he said and held his hand out.

König reached over and took it and then he applied a powerful squeeze. Erwin had expected it and did not flinch at the pain. When König leaned back again he melted into the chair and ran a hand through his black hair. He released a long breath and then sighed dramatically.

“Whoo, being serious all the time is tough. I don’t know how leaders manage this all the time.” He rubbed a hand over his face and transformed from the man of power from a few seconds ago to a man that looked full of humour and kindness. His next smile made Erwin frown and Hanji grin.

“So Olaf mentioned something about researchers…” she began.

König chuckled in amusement and regained his serious air, since he realized they still had much to talk about. The rest of the day was done discussing what abilities the others had and how to put their skills to work. König was especially pleased when they touched on the topic of the infection and Hanji’s discoveries.

XxX

Olaf skipped happily up ahead as he led them to Fourth. They had to fetch baby supplies before he took them to Third to give them each a room. The man glanced over at Nova every so often and giggled softly at the way her head poked out from the blanket. He wanted to ask to hold her, but he wasn’t sure if these people would let him. Still, he remained content to simply look and hummed a song as he led them down the hallway.

It was quiet, which allowed their footsteps to echo loudly in their ears. At one stage the noise woke Nova and she started to fuss, but Nanaba immediately distracted her by tapping lightly against her bottom and she calmed. She did not go back to sleep and merely lay content in her daddy’s arms. Petra was glued to Nanaba’s side and held her hand firmly. Their interlocked fingers felt warm, and it made Petra feel safe.

Ahead of them Ymir and Krista walked hand-in-hand too. They still hadn’t released physical contact since Krista had been rescued, and none of them had really taken the time to come to terms with what had happened. For now the relief of it being over kept them at peace, but they would need to deal with the ordeal eventually. They all hoped that they would be allowed to rest after this.

“Hm hmm hmmm, hm hmm hmmm, let it go!” Olaf sang happily, mostly humming because he couldn’t remember the words. He wasn’t even sure where the song had come from and wondered if he had maybe seen it in a movie somewhere.

Eventually they made it to the room that contained the supplies and Olaf stopped in front of the guard stationed in front of it.

“Heya! Leader sent me here with some friends,” he leaned over to glance at Nanaba and ushered her closer with a grin. “Will you let us in, Hans?”

Nanaba approached with Petra, and Hans, the guard, regarded them for a moment. He took a breath to deny them, stating what he always did that the store room was prohibited, but then he finally noticed Nova and he heard the baby gurgle softly. Nanaba quickly produced the paper with König’s signature on it and before Hans had even properly seen it he was already unlocking the door.

“Please, take what you need,” he said curtly and moved aside for Nanaba to enter.

The blonde woman handed her baby over to her lover and then nodded in thanks to Hans as she brushed past him. They didn’t have any of Nova’s stuff besides her few stuffed animals and her bottle, but that was well due for a replacement.

After finding everything that she would need for roughly a week, since she wasn’t sure how long they would be there, Nanaba slung the bag containing the stuff over her shoulder and then exited the room to join her friends. Petra welcomed her back with a smile.

“Get everything we need?” she asked.

Nanaba smiled and nodded. “It should do for now. Can you hold her while I carry this?”

Petra immediately nodded and adjusted Nova against her chest. The baby was wide awake now and her head was peeking over Petra’s shoulder. She noticed Olaf watching her with wonder and she giggled at the look on his face.

“Ga!” Nova exclaimed happily and then she giggled again. Everyone laughed, including the guard Hans. He had already locked the door and returned to guarding it.

“It…” Olaf said, eyes wide with wonder. He approached hesitantly and reached out. Nova did the same, but she was mostly flailing her arm around. When Olaf finally reached her he felt the toddler’s hand grab onto his finger. “It’s like a little baby unicorn,” Olaf said in amazement.

Ymir wondered what this guy was smoking and Krista giggled softly at her side. In all honestly the blonde thought that Olaf was adorable. He was a grown man but he looked so innocent and full of happiness. It was refreshing.

Nanaba’s tension eased up after Olaf had touched Nova, especially when the little girl seemed extremely happy with her new toy and wouldn’t let the man’s finger go. Olaf was totally okay with that, but he was reminded by Mikasa that he needed to escort them to their rooms and he reluctantly asked Nanaba to extract his finger.

Once free, Olaf skipped over to the front and then waved them over. “Come on guys, Third is really close! We have plenty of rooms open.” He waved at Nova and was excited that she attempted to wave back, and then he turned and led the others out of Fourth and to the right, into Third.

Unlike Forth this hallway was bustling with activity. It wasn’t overly loud but there was a low hum of voices. A few children down the hallway ran and laughed, and their mothers yelled at them not to. Upon noticing the group most of the people greeted Olaf with broad smiles and some even stopped him to engulf him in warm hugs.

“Oh, hey!”

“Hi John!”

“I love warm hugs!”

“You guys are so happy today!”

“Serah, how is Tom today?”

“Oh Ben you’re still here!”

As they went Olaf greeted and smiled at everyone. The people they passed were curious about the newcomers but they did not stop them for anything other than greeting Olaf.

Eventually the interruptions stopped and Olaf started singing again until he stopped at their destination.

“Okay guys, here we are!” He spun around and then clasped his hands behind his back and grinned. “Pick any room you want!”

Everyone exchanged looks and then it was silently agreed that Nanaba would choose for them. The blonde woman pointed at one of the doors. “We will take room 467,” she said. She spared a glance at Ymir. “They’ll take 468.” She then nodded over to Mikasa and Annie. “And then those two will take 466.”

Olaf’s happiness had drained to shock, and he now stared open mouthed at them. He swapped from gapping at Ymir and Krista to Mikasa and Annie, and then he turned to Nanaba and put a hand close to his mouth as he whispered.

“Are you guys, you know, together?” he asked in shock.

Nanaba squinted. “Uh… yes?”

“Oh alright, that’s lovely! Wait here while I run to get the keys!” Olaf was once more his bouncy self and then he ran down the hallway to find the guy that guarded Third. The keys were all kept in a safe that was built into the wall, right by the entrance of the hallway. The only person with entrance to the safe was either König or the guard. Olaf got the keys, handed them to their new owners – though he mixed them up a few times and Nanaba had to grab them all and deal them out herself – and then he stood by and watched them enter.

“If you need anything call me or Leader. I wonder around the halls sometimes at night, but don’t be scared if I do!” Olaf paused. “Unless I'm asleep… Heehee, that happens sometimes.” Olaf noticed that everyone had settled in their rooms and he beamed. “Great! I’ll go tell Leader that you have your rooms. Oh, it’s almost time for lunch! I’ll come and get you for that, since you don’t know the schedule yet. Bye guys, enjoy!” Olaf waved happily and then trudged down and out of Third.

Once the energetic man had left the girls all closed their doors. Nanaba was extremely tired, despite their sleep in the car. Her emotions had yet to settle, and more than anything she wanted alone time with Nova and Petra.

The room itself was larger than expected. It had a small bathroom in the back left corner that consisted of a toilet, shower and sink, and then the room itself contained the essentials. There was a TV that probably would never be used, on a wall unit, a small kitchenette to the very back against the wall and a bed against the right wall. Luckily it was a queen sized bed, and Nanaba wasted no time in dropping the bag and climbing onto it. Petra joined and she placed Nova down on top of her chest.

“My head is still spinning,” Petra commented.

“Yeah, geez.” Nanaba rubbed at her face and laughed when Nova managed to crawl up her chest to grab her hair. “At least this rascal is still a bundle of joy. What I would give to be that ignorant.”

Petra leaned over and kissed Nanaba’s cheek. “Why don’t we take a long nap until Erwin comes to tell us the plan? I’m sure he will let us know what will happen. We have a key, so we can lock the door.”

Nanaba simply nodded. “Sure, sounds like a plan. You better sleep with me though.”

Petra blushed lightly at the other meaning that Nanaba surely hadn’t intended and went to quickly lock the door. She kept the key in, just in case someone had a spare and tried to unlock the door.

The light in their room was provided by a candle situated much like a normal light was, and instead of it being a light bulb it was actually a candle. Petra figured out how to dim it, and then she joined her two loves on the surprisingly comfy bed.

Nanaba pulled Petra against her side and wrapped an arm around her. With her free arm she secured Nova against her chest, and then she and the orange-blonde fell into a light sleep.

Nova was too awake to join them, so she occupied herself by playing with her daddy’s hair and giggling. Nanaba was too tired to even notice, and if she did all she did was smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	28. Chapter 28

Ymir shut the door carefully as Krista entered their room. The blonde looked around in wonder and seemed mildly impressed at how well-furnished it was. Ymir turned around and shrugged when Krista grinned widely. The brunette didn’t care, as long as they were fed and there was a bed to sleep in.

“It’s incredible!” Krista commented, sitting on the bed and bouncing a bit. It was a large bed, and though they didn’t know it, each room was furnished in the exact same way, except for the special family rooms that had several beds and a bigger surface area.

“Yeah, I guess,” Ymir replied boredly. She sat next to Krista and put her arm around her shoulders. The blonde smiled and leaned into her, and both girls tumbled back onto the bed. Ymir laughed while Krista giggled, and soon Krista was straddling Ymir and leaning over her. Her hair fell to one side and curtained their faces.

The blonde leaned forward and kissed Ymir, to which the brunette eagerly replied. With a hint of desperation, Ymir gripped her girlfriend’s thighs and trailed her fingers to the warm skin beneath her shirt. Krista bit down on Ymir’s lip and moaned quietly into her mouth. The freckled girl smirked in response and brushed her lips against the blonde’s jaw, nipping the tight skin there.

Suddenly, Ymir pulled away and stopped, face red and heart pounding. She sat up and looked Krista deeply into her eyes, searching for something that the blonde could not understand. Without saying a word, Ymir got up and unknowingly locked their door the same way Petra had done to prevent intruders.

“Ymir?”

“Krista… I missed you.”

Krista’s eyes softened and she stood to wrap her arms around Ymir’s neck. “Ymir, I missed you too. I was so afraid. I always knew you’d come to save us, Nova and I. I always had hope.”

Ymir frowned and looked away. “That’s stupid. Hope is stupid - it only serves to bring you down when it crashes.”

Krista was undeterred. “That may be, but that hope is what gave me the courage to continue, to take care of Nova and fight until the very end. Hope is what kept me alive.”

The brunette’s eyes darkened and she put her hands on Krista’s hips. “I don’t want to talk about hope right now. I want to talk about us.”

“What’s there to talk-”

Ymir interrupted Krista by crushing her lips to hers, and moving them slowly in a kiss that unconsciously made Krista press herself against the brunette. Ymir groaned appreciatively and backed them up until the back of Krista’s knees hit the bed. With a gentle push, the blonde was on her back and Ymir above her, knee against her centre. Krista let out a shuddering breath and closed her eyes when Ymir kissed down her chest. A button came undone the farther Ymir went down, until finally only Krista’s bra prevented Ymir from fully devoting her attention to her lover’s breasts.

The brunette pushed the shirt off of her girlfriend’s shoulders and removed her own. With their warm skin rubbing against each other, and that incessant knee massaging her sensitive areas, Krista felt her breath shorten and her arousal soar higher.

“Ymir…” Krista moaned.

The freckled teen delivered a searing kiss to those pink, pouty lips and played with her tongue. As they pulled back, Ymir went lower and nipped along her abdomen, dipping her tongue into her bellybutton.

Krista opened her eyes to watch Ymir, and felt the heat spike up even higher at the possessive and protective gaze Ymir had.

“I’m never leaving you out of my sight again.”

x

Mikasa set her weapons down on the bed before stripping, Annie watching. Both teenagers kept quiet as they pondered the recent developments, and their chances of actually keeping this home instead of once again losing everything they had. With all the crap happening to them, they had no hope that this place would last long. It was as though they were cursed with terror and were being played with for some sadistic, vile god’s amusement.

It pissed Annie off more than it did Mikasa.

Not only had Annie missed her chance to decapitate Jezebel for the humiliation she suffered days ago, but she had been in her mercy and forced to accept her help to rescue Mikasa and save Krista and Nova. That night, Mikasa had managed to eliminate all of the undead attacking her, but could not climb out of the hole she fell through. Instead, she wandered outside of the room and was forced to deal with horde after endless horde on her own. When Annie had finally reached her, Jezebel had been with her and had swiftly dealt with the remaining few left. She then explained her plan to the couple, saying she would use two zombie heads that matched their hair colours in order to fool Salmoneus and catch him off guard.

Annie had not wanted to go along, but the logic in her mind disagreed and told her it was for the best.

And so, on top of being too powerless to defeat one person, she was also too weak to protect her best friend and her lover. How could she call herself a fierce lioness if she felt like a meek cat? Annie needed to train, to improve herself and sharpen the blade that had been dulled by time. That was how she felt and that was what she would do.

Mikasa watched the turmoil in Annie’s eyes and made a move to approach her, but decided against it. This was something Annie needed to do on her own, and Mikasa’s involvement would only infuriate her. Of course the black-haired teen understood the blonde’s disgust with herself. Mikasa had felt it the moment she had failed Sasha, the despicable feeling of unworthiness and devastating insecurity cloaking her mind and clouding her every thought. Mikasa knew _exactly_ how Annie felt, and she herself was not ready to accept help until she had admitted she had a problem. It was the same with Annie - Mikasa simply had to wait until Annie came to her for help before she could intervene.

Without looking back at a half-dressed Mikasa, Annie approached the door and opened it. “I’m going out,” she said stoically. She shut the door quietly and padded down the hall, keeping her footsteps light. Behind the door, Mikasa sighed wearily and lied down, closing her eyes and finally drifting off to sleep.

Annie remembered the mention of the exercise rooms somewhere in the Sixth, and so she went down the hall and into the foyer. Looking up, there were numbers engraved in the heading above each hall that enumerated the locations for the population’s ease. The blonde located the stone indicating number six and made her way toward it, her weapons clunking with her movements. The guards watched her carefully, since she was new, and she did not make herself any friendlier. She didn’t give a shit what they thought of her, so she didn’t care how she was perceived by others. Let them think she had a big nose and a bitchy attitude - revenge would only be that much sweeter when they provoked her.

There were unoccupied rooms down the hall, most likely for additional survivors. Annie had seen a few on her way here, though they obviously feared newcomers and only kept to themselves. She remembered Olaf and his friendly demeanour, how everyone seemed to know and like him. The man was an idiot, but he was likable. She only wondered how this man had managed to survive for so long by being a fool, but she supposed he banked on others’ abilities to keep himself afloat. She morbidly wondered if he was the drowning man in his group, if he would pull others down to keep himself up. A façade could only be kept up for so long.

Finally, she reached a fork in the hall that pointed to two sections - the dining area and the exercise rooms. With a determined expression, Annie continued onward to the exercise rooms and stopped short of an unused area. The others were currently occupied, and she preferred to work alone, so she entered it and flipped the lights on. There were various machines that required no electricity to work with, dumbbells, weights, benches, mats, punching bags, wooden figurines, dart boards and other objects and contraptions.

Annie moved over to the mats and began her routine stretches. She was already wearing light clothes that allowed her to move with ease, so there was no need to change into the gi provided on the rack in the corner. It seemed these people had thought of everything when they constructed these bunkers.

Annie bent over and touched her toes, then straightened and repeated the exercise until the pain in her thighs started to sting too much. She moved on to jumping jacks and push ups, and when she finally felt her muscles loosen, unsheathed her swords and approached the wooden figures. She flipped her fringe back in annoyance and breathed harshly through her nose. A coat of sweat moistened her clothes and covered her body.

Just as she lifted her arms to slam her swords against the figure, a familiar husky voice stopped her.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

“Go away.” Annie lowered her arms but did not turn around. She didn’t need Mikasa patronizing her.

“I told myself I’d give you time to sort it out, but I forget that you might as well be a giant when you’re angry.” Mikasa stepped forward and whirled Annie around. “Fight me.”

Annie narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth. “No.”

Mikasa smirked and brushed her lips over Annie’s, slipping a hand under her shirt. “Fight me,” she whispered.

“N-no…” Annie pushed Mikasa away with her knuckles and scowled. “No, Mikasa.”

Mikasa watched her coolly and brandished her swords. “Fine, stand there.” Mikasa rushed forward and engaged Annie in combat, and the blonde had no choice but to put her swords up and block. She glared into Mikasa’s eyes while the other girl calmly stared her down. Finally, Mikasa ducked and threw her leg out to trip Annie. However, the blonde was quick enough to jump and back away. Mikasa followed her with steel strokes and light footsteps.

Mikasa rushed while Annie blocked, and both girls commenced a dance of steel that echoed throughout the room and out the open door. Soon, their battle noises were heard by others who grew interested. An audience formed near the mats and observed their spar with awe. The girls’ actions were blurred and fast, but absolutely amazing.

Annie’s anger was building each time Mikasa smirked her way. The oriental girl’s eyes were still so calm yet focused, and it really pissed the blonde off. She really wanted to wipe that smirk from her face and mutilate her, but at the same time she wanted to tackle her and ravish her right there on the floor. It was infuriating and invigourating all at once.

Their swords clanged against each other when Mikasa once more slammed hers against Annie’s, but this time the blonde performed a wrist movement that allowed her to disarm Mikasa and point one sword directly at her chest. Mikasa’s expression faltered slightly, which made Annie smirk, but then the oriental girl used her wrist to knock the sword away and reached over to slam her palm against Annie’s chest. The blonde flew backward into a collection of wooden swords.

Both teens were panting harshly, and when Annie stood from the pile, she glared hotly at Mikasa and sheathed her swords. The oriental girl stood in her spot when the blonde grabbed her by her collar, despite their height differences, and pulled her down for a searing kiss. The crowd gasped then laughed, and the girls pulled away to stare in shock. Funnily enough, Olaf was in the crowd collecting bets, but when he saw them look at him, he dropped the various toys and food and approached them with a big smile.

“Great show out there!” Olaf complimented, wiggling his eyebrows, “you’ve got some _moves_.”

Mikasa said nothing but picked her swords up. She was blushing, as was Annie, and she led her embarrassed lover out of the room so that they could return to the privacy of their room. They had quite a few things to talk about, not to mention some tension to relieve.

Out of pride, Annie kept quiet but silently thanked Mikasa for giving her an outlet. Who knows what she would have done if she had been left alone to destroy the room. Mikasa knew she was grateful, and so didn’t need a word of appreciation.

When they finally reached their room, they saw Ymir and Krista exit their own room with happy smiles and dreamy expressions. They shared a smirk when they came to the same conclusion. Krista sighed happily and greeted her friends, but her attention was drawn by something behind them.

“Olaf?”

Olaf crouched with a flower pot over his head, but he quickly stood up and set it down.

“Oh hi! I was just… um… see, I _really_ like flowers, and I wanted to share it with you! Soooo, I wanted to take super extra ultra care of it and-”

“Get to the goddamn point you mumbling idiot,” Ymir growled angrily. She stomped one foot forward and glared heavily at the man, who seemed undeterred and instead was smiling vacantly.

“Oh I just remembered!” he exclaimed suddenly, “dinner’s ready! Come and get it! It’s in the Sixth, down the other fork!” He waved and left them, and at that point Nanaba and Petra had come out of their room with Nova.

The women watched the various bewildered and disgusted expressions of the couples, and wondered what had happened.

“Uhh…” Nanaba started carefully, watching their reactions, “is everything alright?”

Krista sighed, then smiled. “Everything’s fine. Olaf just came to tell us that dinner’s ready.”

“Let’s get going then!” Nanaba smiled and led the group down the hall.

As they walked, various survivors poured out of other rooms to follow with their families and friends. Some seemed weary from work, while others were excited and awaiting their meal. The group of women were ignored and put aside - the survivors favoured familiarity to the frightening unknown.

However, there were a couple of survivors that seemed to prefer displaying their displeasure. They were a minority but openly hostile. Krista could feel their glares on the back of her head, which made her unconsciously move closer to Ymir and press against her side. The brunette tightened her grip on the blonde’s hand and made sure to deliver an equally hot glare to the assholes who dared to give them crap. After everything they had been through, they still had to deal with petty squabbles and immature behaviours.

Mikasa suddenly stood in between the glaring competition and forced Ymir to back down. Getting Ymir riled up would not end well for either party. Annie’s hand was still tightly held in her own, and she was hoping to sneak away so that they could have some time to themselves. She longed to feel Annie writhe beneath her…

The oriental girl watched as Ymir and Krista conversed with Nanaba and Petra, Nova gurgling happily between them, and tugged on Annie’s hand to indicate a change in plans. They would go without dinner tonight, but the fire in their gut was more than enough to satisfy that hunger - they had another type of hunger to sate.

Mikasa smirked when Annie raised an eyebrow, and suddenly the blonde understood and chuckled lowly. They ducked and dipped through the crowd, returning to their room. Mikasa unlocked the door and allowed Annie in, shutting it behind her and locking it. The taller girl initiated a searing kiss that made Annie’s toes curl. Both of them backed up until the back of Annie’s thighs hit the bed, and then they collapsed together against the sheets and allowed their hands to roam.

Annie lifted her shirt above her head and let out a slow breath when Mikasa’s lips pressed to her breasts. The oriental girl nipped along her chest and collar bone before reaching her neck to place an evident love-bite. Annie frowned and pulled away but Mikasa was already shoving her hand into her pants. Just as Annie breathed in her words of anger to spit them at Mikasa, she was forced to swallow them when said girl penetrated her. Her actions hidden by her clothes, the black-haired girl smirked against Annie’s shoulder and began a steady pace.

The blonde shuddered deliciously and bucked against Mikasa’s hand. She had craved her touch ever since their last time, and this was simply perfect. No need for words or promises of love - all they needed was the silence they were known for, the comfortable nothingness that said everything without doing anything.

As the lovers reunited emotionally in their room, the others reunited with Erwin and Hanji in the dining room.

The dining room, or rather, _hall_ , was an enormous space filled with dozens upon dozens of long tables able to seat a maximum of one hundred people. The ceiling was high, though not too high, and there were paintings of landscapes and people covering the golden walls. Each table was covered by a white cloth, and the dishes were neatly placed.

Ymir found it hard to believe that survivors could live in such luxury. Just how much work was put into all of this? And _why_ did it take an apocalypse to understand the values of teamwork and generosity? Ymir just chalked it up to human stupidity, and decided to enjoy what she got. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with rations for a long time.

Krista looked around in awe and sat down at a smaller table situated at the head of the room. They had been invited by König to sit with him so he could introduce them to the other survivors. Krista guessed he also wanted to explain the situation in Sina, as well as the newest discoveries regarding the biology of the zombies - an expression Hanji used loosely and ironically. She knew they had talked about that already, so she was simply waiting for what he had to say.

The blonde noticed that Olaf was strangely missing - she thought he’d have shown up here to at least greet König, or to have their first meal together since he had told them of the dinner, but the man had disappeared as soon as the crowd swallowed them on their way through Sixth. Krista hoped she could see him again soon. He was a really fun person to talk to.

“Everything has been arranged,” Erwin said, interrupting Krista’s thoughts. The blonde looked at him from across the table and smiled when he looked at her. He smiled as well and nodded. “Our residence here has been made solid, and we can feel safe here. All König asks of us is to contribute either to the military, the kitchen or anything you can think of that would be useful.”

Nanaba raised her hand. “I have a baby to take care of, and I’d like to join the military. I wouldn’t want Nova alone if any of you are busy.”

“Rest assured, Nanaba, we’ll have different shifts so that Nova will be under full supervision at all times if you aren’t there. I’ll speak to König about it post-dinner.”

Krista thought it over. So, now they were safe, but they needed to contribute in order to fully be accepted. It made sense, since you could only take what you could give, but she had no idea how she could repay these people for their kindness. She didn’t want to work in a kitchen, or do anything outside of the bunkers. She’d had enough of the zombies to last her five lifetimes. She would prefer to teach, since Olaf had mentioned that children were taught in order to maintain their intelligence, but she knew that Ymir would join the military and she wanted to stay close to the brunette.

What was she supposed to do?

A fork clanked against a glass and the chatter of the room quieted. Only the first few tables had people on them, and even then they weren’t totally full. Empty tables cluttered the back of the hall, used mainly to store extra pots of food in case there were more ravenous stomachs.

König, in all his majestic glory, walked into the room with a grim look on his face. He sat next to Erwin and his face seemed to grow more solemn when he noticed the murmurs of the other survivors. They must have been terribly surprised to see their beloved leader immediately taking a liking to the group of ragtag survivors, and the sudden devastated look on his face alarmed them.

“Everyone,” König boomed, “I have an announcement to make.Firstly, we have made a breakthrough in discovering more of the zombies’ weaknesses. We’ll talk more after we eat. Secondly, we have new survivors I would like everyone to acquaint themselves with sometime today and tomorrow, and thirdly…”

König inhaled sharply and crossed his arms. His green eyes looked terribly sad, and his bronze skin sagged with depression.

“Olaf has just been found dead in the hall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	29. Chapter 29

The late morning was especially cold that day, Nanaba was sure of it. She’d been standing in it for the past six hours and twenty-four minutes. She knew this because she was counting down, and luckily the watch that König had given to her actually worked.

The sky was the same as it had been all week; Dark, cloudy and dreary. It wouldn’t rain anytime soon but it would most definitely continue to snow. There was already a new layer of snow blanketing the ground and Nanaba cringed internally. She pitied the guys tasked with shovelling this stuff. At least she had chosen this position.

Snowpeak Fighters, or just soldiers as Nanaba preferred to think of it, was a rather organized military system. Of course Nanaba would have requested to join them, since her only perfect skill was that of guarding and fighting. It would also lessen her stress if she was part of the force that protected her family. This was the best way in which she could contribute, and like everyone else, she was trying her best to work well by applying her skills and experience.

After Erwin explained their terms for staying each of them had voiced what type of contribution they would like to make. Petra immediately asked about the day-care, if there was one, and when König had nodded she requested to be one of the teachers/caretakers for the little children. There weren’t _that_ many children, but there were a few. Luckily for Petra they were in need of more people to watch and teach the children, so her request had been granted immediately. Nanaba chose the military and Ymir, surprising most, explicitly asked not to join alongside Nanaba. Krista was surprised the most, though she felt indescribable relief. Ymir mentioned that she was good with fixing things and she became Snowpeak’s first official mechanic. If anything was to break, civilians were to call on Ymir and she was under obligation to fix whatever had gone wrong.

When Krista had asked her why she had chosen that instead of being a soldier Ymir had reluctantly admitted that she wanted to be as close to Krista as possible. The blonde wasn’t about to complain.

Hanji was obviously assigned as the head of the research department, much to the outrage of the man that had already been running it. Since she had so easily discovered the key facts about the zombies König felt it was responsible to give her full access to any research material they had. It had only taken a swift warning on König’s part to quiet the outcry, and in a matter of two days and three hours the men and women working in the lab found that Hanji was a fabulous boss, though very eccentric. It was only the previous head that refused to accept her presence, and he still sulked in the back of the lab.

Erwin had not requested any particular position, but it had been understood by all that he would immediately remain by König’s side. It wasn’t formally announced until the week of rest was over that Erwin was second in command. Erwin was also officially part of the Snowpeak Fighters. The men and women that had been there since the beginning couldn’t fathom how this stranger could have swooped in and become their leader’s favourite, so uneasiness had travelled through the halls. Erwin was still trying to find a way to prove his ability to lead alongside their very capable leader.

Krista hadn’t been able to request any sort of job because she wasn’t sure how to contribute, since Petra had already taken the job she had thought about occupying, but the others had listed her skills and personality traits. König had then given her the label of ‘Helper’ and told her that she would help in the kitchen. If anyone else requested help then she was to assist them, too. Krista would cook or serve, depending on who was on duty that day.

Mikasa and Annie had silently joined alongside Nanaba, which pleased König greatly. He had heard of the pair’s physical capabilities and building his army like this would better secure the safety of all of his people. The more capable people they had, the better.

The first week had flown by and now it was a few days past the second. Nanaba was already used to her new schedule. Thanks to an influx of survivors there were plenty of new soldiers and therefore more people to guard outside. Nanaba was in fact standing guard where they had met Olaf those two weeks ago, in case any other survivors arrived or rebels looking to cause trouble showed up.

Nanaba glanced at her watch again and shivered at the icy air touching her warm skin. It was only eleven thirty-two. Nanaba sighed.

“You do that every day,” a voice suddenly spoke up.

Nanaba did not startle and she turned to the person now standing close to her. “Homura, did König send you?”

Homura cracked a tiny grin and shook his head. Even though it was cold as icy hell outside he did not wear anything on his head, and his chin length white hair framed his face. Nanaba thought that his hair matched the snow, and the thought made her roll her eyes.

The young man pulled something from his pocket and then he lit a cigarette and sighed in content. “Can’t smoke in the bunkers,” he said. “König hates it and we have to consider the health of everyone.” He took a long drag of the cigarette and then chuckled.

Nanaba eyed him. “So why do you smoke?”

Homura shrugged. He had arrived at Snowpeak close to the beginning of the end. He’d been here since then but had only recently joined the military. He greatly admired König as a leader, but more than that he wanted to be a guardian for these people. He hated to see how scared and helpless they felt, so he had taken it upon himself to be their guardian for as long as he could. “It’s a crappy habit,” he answered and killed the cigarette by pinching it between his fingers. He then placed the bud into his pocket and shook his fringe out of his eyes. “How is Nova doing?”

Nanaba turned to look out over the barren snow-covered land and grinned goofily. “She’s doing great. She’s starting to talk more.”

Homura chuckled. “That kid has won everyone over. You’re one lucky papa.”

Nanaba resist the urge to nod frantically and exclaim her absolute agreement. Instead she cleared her throat and nodded once. “Thanks.”

They fell into comfortable silence, gripping their guns firmly against their military clad torsos. Fog lifted into the sky each time they breathed, and eventually Nanaba turned to Homura with a question.

“Since you’re here I might as well ask; have they found anything out about Olaf’s murder?”

Homura’s eyes filled with sadness and he sighed and shrugged. “If they have it hasn’t been shared with us yet. I’m sure König is doing all he can to find the culprit, though.”

“I guess,” Nanaba said. “We didn’t really know Olaf but he seemed like a nice man.”

Homura scoffed. “Nice is an understatement.” He suddenly leaned over and grabbed a hold of Nanaba’s wrist.

“What are you doing?”

The white haired man ignored her question and lifted her sleeve to get a look at the time. When he dropped her arm he pointed over his shoulder and then leaned against the sign behind them.

“Your shift is over, you can head back now. I decided to come out a little early since I was bored.”

Nanaba checked her watch then too and remembered how warm Homura’s hand had been. It was damn freaky, considering that the man barely wore suitable clothes for the weather. Was he a human heater or something? But he was right, or sort of. Nanaba’s shift normally ended at twelve when it started at five a.m., and it was eleven-fourty. 

“You don’t mind?”

Homura gave her a charming grin and shoved her towards the town. “Of course not. Go to your family, I’ve got this.”

Nanaba only gave him an appreciative smile and then she nodded and hurried back to the bunkers. She had been missing Petra and Nova all morning, so with that thought in mind she hurried down into the bunkers and into Sixth. She found both of her darlings where a makeshift day-care centre had been set up, right in the corner of the big dining hall.

Nova felt Nanaba’s presence before she saw her, so Petra immediately knew she was here when Nova had suddenly dropped her toy and crawled over to the edge of the playpen. She squealed in delight when Nanaba appeared and scooped her up into her arms.

“Dadda!”

“Hey there Pumpkin, did you miss me?”

“She did.” Petra had asked one of the other women to watch the children for her and now she was standing by Nanaba and smiling. “I missed you too.”

Nanaba smiled and leaned over to give Petra a long, wonderful kiss. Nova had other plans, however, so she started to poke her daddy’s cheek until Nanaba sighed and pulled away from the kiss.

“You want a kiss too, huh?” Nanaba lifted the little one in her arms and then showered kisses all over her face. Nova giggled and playfully tugged at Nanaba’s hair, making the blonde woman laugh.

Petra sighed in happiness and hid a giggle behind her hand. “Is your shift over?” she asked.

Nanaba, still terrorizing Nova with kisses, laughed and nodded her head. “Homura took over a little early for me.” She suddenly lowered the tiny blonde and turned serious. “Petra, there’s actually something important I need to speak to you about. When are you free?”

Petra’s heart fluttered in worry for a moment but she shook it off. Surely it wasn’t anything bad. “Uh, it will be nap time soon and then someone else takes over. Would you like me to bring Nova with or leave her here?”

Nanaba’s eyes flicked over Petra’s shoulder to where the other children played, and where the women looking after them either ran behind them or sat to play with them. There were mostly toddlers between two and four years old, with only a few babies. Most of the mothers were the ones working here. Normally Nanaba would have been hesitant, but she knew that these women had children of their own and they would never do anything to harm the kids.

“Leave her here. We shouldn’t be too long so we can get her afterwards.”

Petra nodded but she couldn’t help the nervousness that filled her eyes. Nanaba noticed and she immediately took Petra’s hand in her own and bent down to kiss her tenderly just above her brow.

“Relax, love. You’ll see later.” She flashed a mysterious smile and then handed Nova back over to Petra. “There you go. Stay with mommy until I come to fetch you, okay?” She kissed her daughter on the forehead and then gave Petra a quick peck on the lips. “I’m going to the gym and then I’ll fetch you in an hour?”

Petra’s heart was soaring and her worries were gone, though she was still curious about what Nanaba needed to talk to her about. Why couldn’t they just do it here? Well, she supposed she would find out later. It had to be something adult-like, since they wouldn’t have Nova with them. Petra blushed lightly at that train of thought.

Despite how long they had been together now, which wasn’t all that long in reality but was now due to the new world order, they had yet to be more intimate than deep kisses. Petra wanted Nanaba that way, badly, but they hadn’t really found the right moment. Between rescuing Nova and then settling in here, they had all been otherwise occupied; though Petra had noticed that not all of them had been so _busy_ with other stuff. She didn’t miss the way Krista and Ymir seemed to touch more intimately now. It was quite obvious that they were absolutely comfortable with each other on a physical level and that only meant one thing.

Petra was totally jealous.

“Stay safe and I’ll see you later,” Nanaba said.

“I will, and you should too! I love you.”

Nanaba paused to smile beautifully and then she kissed Petra one last time before she finally turned and left for the gym.

Petra smiled dreamily and watched her go, so she was slightly startled when Nova clapped a hand against her cheek, wanting her attention.

“Mama.”

Petra giggled and nuzzled the baby’s soft hair. “I’m here Nova. You have my attention.”

There was suddenly a sigh to Petra’s right, and it was definitely directed at her. When she turned she recognized one of the young women that had been working alongside her, though she wasn’t a mother herself.

“You’re so lucky, you know,” she said.

Petra glanced to where the woman was looking, and she realized what she meant. “Yeah, I am.” Petra agreed with a smile.

“My name is Anne, by the way.” Anne held a hand out and smiled when Petra shook it. She was just as short as Petra, though paler and with short brown hair. “We haven’t really formally met. I didn’t mean to suddenly butt-in, but I just noticed how wonderful your husband is and I couldn’t help but comment.”

Petra’s eyes widened. ‘Husband’? Did this woman think…?

“And such a wonderful father too! It’s not every day that you get to see a family in tact like that. I wish I could find a man like yours.”

Petra looked down at Nova and the small blonde caught her eye. For a second it looked as if the toddler shared Petra’s thoughts, but then she yawned and pressed her face against Petra’s chest and the orange-blonde remembered that she was still just a baby.

“Anne?”

“Hm?”

“Nanaba isn’t, I mean…” Petra paused. _Wait, I should talk to Nanaba about this first. I don’t know if she wants people to stay under the impression. Why would she though? But it doesn’t matter. I should ask her first before I blurt things out to strangers. I don’t want any unnecessary hostility here._ “Nanaba isn’t my husband,” Petra said instead.

“Oh? Could have fooled me. You both make a beautiful couple.”

Petra couldn’t agree more. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me I think someone needs a nap with everyone else.”

Anne gasped and nodded. “Of course!”

Petra just smiled and then she returned to the others and set Nova down to sleep. She had to grin in amusement to herself though. Did all of these people think that Nanaba was a man?

XxX

König breathed steadily as he poured over the recent documents compiled by Hanji. As he read through each paragraph his irritation and sadness grew until he had to shove the papers away and glance to the side of the room, breathing evenly and slowly to calm his racing heart.

Two weeks after Olaf’s murder and still no leads. What evidence there was hardly pointed to anything concrete.

Olaf had been impaled from behind by a rusty pole, sharpened at the front. There were no witnesses and no fingerprints on the weapon but bloody gloves had been discovered on the surface, close to the entrance of the bunkers. The only evidence left by the killer themselves was one strand of long red hair. This might not have even been from the killer, but Hanji was currently doing DNA tests and comparing the DNA from the strand of hair to every red-head in the bunkers. It was drastic, but the only way to rule them out as suspects.

As König thought this over the door suddenly burst open and he looked up to see Hanji stumbling towards him, eyes wide and crazed.

“König, I think I have something!”

The large man unfolded himself and stood to give Hanji a steady hand. She hadn’t been sleeping much these past few days, since she was determined to find out who the culprit was and to prove herself to everyone. Besides the murder case she had also been doing new tests for her theories on the zombies. Sleep had become something trivial for her.

“Calm down and breathe. Here, take a seat.” König pulled a seat out for her, made sure she sat down and then scooted it in. He then sat down beside her and put a comforting hand against her back.

“Heh, sorry. I ran all the way over here without thinking. Anyway!”

“What have you discovered?”

Hanji pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and then pulled a file out from under her arm that König hadn’t noticed.

“See, I was thinking about the whole Olaf deal. You haven’t mentioned it yet but I eavesdropped the other day and overheard you telling Erwin about the strange hordes passing by at three every morning.” Hanji ignored König’s frown and took an excited breath. “That got me thinking. Of course the walkers can’t organize themselves, so someone is probably sending them! That, and the fact that after we found the gloves that had handled the murder weapon we also found footsteps leading out of Snowpeak.” Hanji grew serious. “Sir, I have a strong suspicion that this was done by someone not from Snowpeak. You allow survivors in, therefore someone from the enemy could have been here a while and then left after the crime was done, or they could have snuck in to do it and left shortly after.”

“So you’re saying that Snowpeak has some sort of enemy, and that enemy snuck in to kill Olaf? That this enemy is sending hordes to this area every morning?”

Hanji nodded vigourously. “It makes so much sense! I finally completed the DNA matching and no one here with red hair matches the strand found at the scene. Therefore the person, even if it isn’t the killer, that left the hair wasn’t even from here. König, sir, I’m afraid that something terrible is brewing here.”

König slumped back into his chair and lifted a finger to his chin. “An enemy? But who could…” Suddenly he grew quiet, thoughtful. “There might be someone… but how…”

Erwin, from where he had been quietly listening by the door, finally stepped in and announced his presence. “König,” he said steadily. “If there is something deeper happening here, then I would like to know about it. My group and I went through a lot before arriving here, and we would not appreciate being thrown into the crossfire of your misfortune.”

König lifted an eyebrow but nodded. “I understand. The thought is inconceivable, but if what Hanji says is right, and I trust her word by now, then it means that only one person could be responsible.”

Erwin tightened his fists that were clenched behind his back. He did not like this one bit. Not one damn bit. “Who?”

“I have a brother. He is younger by a few years.”

“Why would he be responsible?” Erwin asked.

“Eric, he… he was always troubled as a child. Growing up he struggled to obey and behave. As we grew older his refusal to obey the rules grew worse. He started to despise organized leaders, the law, presidents, anyone with leadership over people. What unsettled me most about him was how he admired men such as Hitler and Stalin. When all of this mess started Eric became eager to create a communist system, but I refused him. I used this place to rescue anyone who had not been infected yet. I allowed survivors here and I shared every bit of resources I had. Eric hated this. He wanted us to make the people work and give them minimum reward for it. He would always say that with this we could be our own true kings. We could hold the riches while we make the peasants work.” König scratched his bearded cheek and sighed. “We would argue relentlessly. Eventually he grew fed up and left. He gave no word and simply took supplies and walked out during the night. That happened around a month after the apocalypse happened, and I haven’t seen him since. But he swore vengeance on me the day before he left.”

Erwin considered the man’s words carefully and studied his face as he spoke. No emotion made him suspicious and everything seemed sincere, so far. “König, if your brother is trying to destroy this place then I will have no choice but to leave with my group. We have a child with us, and I can’t allow all of them to live through another hell. Not more than they have to.”

At this König grew irritated and he stood suddenly to march over to one of his maps of Japan stuck to the wall. “This is merely a hunch! We cannot immediately assume that it is him. For all we know he could have been killed already. I cannot make any moves or give any orders until we have proper evidence that someone is in fact targeting us.”

Erwin stood stiffly and took a breath. “König, we cannot sit and do nothing.”

“We won’t!” König snapped. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. Just like Hanji he hadn’t been sleeping much either. Though there were no casualties yet, there were constant reports from the Fighters that large hordes were seen passing by. It was strange, since no group of the dead had come close to the area since the beginning of the outbreak, when Snowpeak itself turned into the creatures. König couldn’t sleep when he worried that any of his men would be hurt or bitten and bring the infection into the bunkers with them – If that happened… “We won’t,” König repeated, sounding like he believed it this time. “Hanji, do you have any suggestions?”

Hanji straightened in her seat and caught her glasses just as they started to slip off of her face. “O-of course! I was already considering this but… why don’t we create a second location? Somewhere to immediately evacuate the civilians? It might take a lot of time, but it could save a lot of lives in the event of the infection reaching here. We are all cornered down here.”

König turned and gave Hanji a level look. “Where could we go to? What if this supposed enemy were to catch on to our plan?”

Hanji grinned. “That’s a good question! The trick is to tell your men only half of the story. If we move supplies or restore a location, make sure they are not aware of the truth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if we take supplies to the second base then give them a fake location nearby. Send a small group with the real information to retrieve the supplies from there. If we have a traitor amongst the Fighters, and if they discover the real location, then we know who to point fingers at.”

“How will we ensure that other survivors don’t happen across the second location and use that for themselves?”

“That’s easy,” Hanji said. “We either make the place look as unappealing as possible or we don’t use something obvious. Something underground would work well, so we can just hide everything there and no one would know unless they were specifically looking.”

König sighed deeply, like a man troubled by the issues of the world. “I am wary of this plan, considering that we only have guesses and theories.”

“I agree with Hanji,” Erwin declared. “Even if Eric or someone else isn’t out for the destruction of this place, having somewhere to flee to is the best back up plan. I have seen too many times how something seemingly safe can crumble too easily.”

König sighed but this time in defeat. “I can’t argue with your logic. Erwin, I entrust this mission to you. Find a safe location and an easy way to get there if something were to happen. We can move extra supplies there, but not a lot. You may take one of our military vehicles and anyone you trust.”

Erwin widened his eyes in utter surprise. He was pleased that König was agreeing but he was shocked that the man trusted him so much already. For all König knew they could have been the culprits, since all of this only started after they had arrived. But König was definitely smarter than he appeared, and he could immediately tell what kind of person Erwin and his people were. He had no doubt that this man would save his life, and he would do the same for Erwin.

“We will scout surrounding areas and report to you before making any final decisions,” Erwin said.

König waved his hand in dismissal. “No need, I trust your judgement. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m expecting some of the soldiers.” He dropped into his usual seat. “A rumour of the hordes has been passing around, and my men are becoming restless. Thank you for your hard work Hanji, Erwin.”

The blonde man and bespectacled woman both bowed in respect and then left the room together. Hanji headed for her lab while Erwin merely followed, lost in thought and speculation.

“Hanji, do you think it is safe to trust in König?” he asked.

Hanji turned to him in surprise. “Logically speaking, no. We have only known him for two weeks and there is no way to have truly grown to trust in him. If, however, he is a trustworthy man by nature then I’m sure we would trust him instinctually. Why, do you think something is up?”

Erwin shook his head, chin gripped between his fingers. “No, he has been honest with us until now. I’ve just had this ominous feeling since the moment Olaf was killed.”

Hanji frowned. “Me too. I’ve actually been wondering about the enemy theory since the moment I saw the evidence. It’s just taken some time to work out my theories.”

“Hanji,” Erwin stopped suddenly and pulled his partner to a halt. He looked to each side of the hallway and then turned to Hanji with the most serious look he had ever had on his face. “We need to figure out a way to find out if there really is someone targeting Snowpeak or König directly. If what you say is true then I would rather we leave before things get serious.”

Hanji didn’t like the idea of having to leave. She had the freedom and resources to do whatever experiments she pleased. Leaving meant that they would all have to return to that awful word above. Of course, Hanji knew that what Erwin was saying was true as well. It seemed that König hadn’t realized how easily his empire could crumble, but Erwin could. Erwin had seen it happen in Sina, and it was happening here too. So little time had passed since they had arrived and there was trouble in paradise already.

“I’ll think of something,” she said just as seriously. “But don’t tell the others yet. Not until I’m sure. Especially Nanaba. She might leave with Petra before we have a chance to figure out what the situation is.”

Erwin nodded. “Nobody can find out just yet. It will only cause panic and unease. People tend to go crazy under fear and worry.” He rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his sore shoulders. “We should do the scouting as soon as possible. I would also like to find a place where our group could go to if we decide to leave. How are your experiments going?”

At this Hanji released an eerie cackle. “I’ve been doing what you asked. No one is aware yet since I act like I’m deranged most of the time.”

“So, are they close to complete?”

“Yes they are. In fact, I might just be ready to give them a test run. We could take a few out with us when we scout.”

Erwin smiled in relief and clapped Hanji on the back. “I feel bad for withholding that one snippet of information, but we cannot give them everything yet.”

“If these weapons work and you decide that it’s worth it to stay, then we can tell them. We could be Snowpeak’s only hope.”

Erwin shrugged. “But is it worth it to save this place at the cost of our own lives?” He gave Hanji a level look, and she deflated and sighed.

“It isn’t, at least not yet.”

“I’ll head to the surface and talk to whoever is up there. Continue with the weapons and let me know if you discover anything else.”

Hanji straightened and saluted, and then she watched Erwin’s back as the man turned and strode out of the hallway and to First. She sighed softly, hoping that they were wrong and this was all just some paranoia on her part. She really didn’t want to leave, especially when she was so close to developing the most effective weapons against the undead creatures. Though she still needed to properly test how effective they were, but against normal weapons she was sure that they worked better.

After all, she had discovered that a zombie’s ultimate weakness was electricity.

XxX

After an hour of working out and using the gym in Sixth Nanaba finally gave it a rest and hurried back to her room to have a quick shower and dress up. She didn’t want to overly dress herself, since people would notice, but she did put a bit more of an effort into it.

She wore a clean, new pair of dark grey jeans, a white button up shirt with a black pullover and then new boots. They were clothes provided by König. After they all decided to stay they were given the privilege of going through storage and finding clothes that fit them. Everything here had been taken from clothing stores, so everything was still clean and new. Since there was still so much they were allowed to take whatever they wanted, provided that they didn’t take too much.

Nanaba used gel to style her hair while it was still wet, making herself look very much like she was about to go on a date. For a moment Nanaba merely stood in the bathroom gazing at her own reflection. It felt like such a long time since she had been able to just clean herself up and mess with her hair like this. After receiving Nova she hadn’t been interested in going out, and she hadn’t had anyone to go out with. If she ever went anywhere it was only with and for Nova.

But now she finally had a reason, so getting all dressed up like this felt fantastic. Nanaba allowed a moment in which she admired how sexy she was, and then she shook it off and smoothed her hands down the front of her shirt.

Petra was probably wondering why Nanaba needed her alone to speak to her. In truth Nanaba had wanted Nova to be there, but she had certain plans that her daughter couldn’t be around for. Hopefully things would progress well to that point, and Nanaba considered this as she left the room and locked it. She shoved the key into her pocket and her finger brushed against something else in there.

Suddenly Nanaba’s heart shot into her throat and she swallowed thickly to get it down. Would Petra really be okay with what she needed to ask? It wasn’t like she had just suddenly decided on it. Nanaba had thought over this since before Sina had fallen. They had known each other for such a short amount of time, but Nanaba didn’t want to wait for more time to pass. In the world they lived in a week together was as good as a year. She knew that either of them could die the next day, and it had only been her clinging onto fears and past customs that had led Nanaba to waiting this long.

Her waiting was over now. She was serious about this, and she hoped with all her heart that this wouldn’t blow up in her face. She loved Petra more than anything.

The walk back to Sixth had flown by fast for the blonde since she had been thinking deeply and idly playing with the precious object in her pocket. So when she entered the room and heard her name, she was confused for a moment. Her body had gone into autopilot and it took a few seconds for Nanaba to get over the confusion of how she had gotten there so quickly.

“Nanaba!” Petra hurried over to her lover and grinned broadly. “Nova is still asleep. She was fussing earlier and wouldn’t fall asleep until I sang to her. So, are we…?” Suddenly she paused mid-sentence and her eyes widened.

Nanaba panicked. “Petra?”

“Nanaba, you look… wow… you look amazing. Is something good happening?”

Nanaba sighed in relief and grinned slightly. “Maybe,” she answered. She offered a hand and her heart swelled when Petra took it and pressed to her side. Because she couldn’t resist it Nanaba leaned down to kiss Petra on the lips and then she tugged her out of the room and down the hall.

“Where are we going?”

“To our room.” There was nowhere safer or fancier to go, unfortunately, and they would need all the privacy that they could get – hopefully.

“To do what?” Petra questioned curiously.

Nanaba gave her smaller lover’s hand as squeeze and smiled down at her. “To talk.”

“About?”

Nanaba paused to pull Petra against her front and kiss her until her toes curled. When she was done, and Petra was successfully befuddled, Nanaba chuckled and continued dragging Petra to their bedroom. Petra was still dazed by the time they entered the room, and she barely noticed when Nanaba locked the door and turned to her with a shy grin.

“Petra?”

The orange-blonde reacted violently to Nanaba’s husky voice, startling and heart suddenly pounding.

“Yes?”

The blonde woman smiled affectionately and approached Petra. “I would have loved to have Nova here,” Nanaba started. “But… if everything goes as planned…” She let the sentence hang and chuckled lightly at the blush that suddenly took Petra’s face. “Sit down, love. Breathe.”

Petra laughed nervously and did what she was told. She was surprised when Nanaba dropped down in front of her and shuffled forward until she was between Petra’s legs, an arm leaning on each one.

“Petra, I love you.” Nanaba said.

Petra’s heart raced. “I-I love you too.”

Nanaba smiled and reached up to caress Petra’s scarlet cheek. “I know it’s hardly been a long time, but there is something I need to ask of you. Well, two things actually. I don’t want to pressure you into saying yes, and you have no obligation to agree if you don’t want to.”

Petra’s heart continued to race faster. She could see the sudden nervousness in Nanaba’s eyes and suddenly their surroundings changed in her mind. Instead of the bland walls and grey floor, Petra saw tables littered all around them and grand chandeliers hanging above. She heard the clanging of wine glasses and cutlery to plates instead of the stifling silence. She saw Nanaba sitting across from her, dressed smartly in a gorgeous suit, and not crouched nervously in front of her.

The picture was a cliché, something seen in almost every romantic movie, and suddenly Petra wished more than anything that it was real and she wasn’t in some stifling room in a bunker to escape the end of the world.

“Petra,” Nanaba scooted even closer and lifted herself slightly to gaze more deeply into Petra’s face. “Nova loves you, I know that and you know that. Would you consider becoming her mother? Would you adopt her? Not on paper,” she placed her hand over Petra’s chest and smiled. “But in your heart.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and when she opened them her nerves were gone. “And would you consider marrying me, in the same sense? We can have a ceremony or not. I want to call you my wife, not lover or girlfriend. I want you to call yourself Nova’s mother. Would you consider it, for me? For Nova?”

Nanaba watched Petra’s face closely. The smaller woman looked shocked and speechless, and steadily small tears leaked down her cheeks. Before Nanaba could panic Petra suddenly tackled her in a painful hug and sobbed against her neck.

“Yes, you idiot! What is there to even consider?” She tightened her hold even further if that was possible. “I wouldn’t have made it this far without you or Nova, and adopting her would make me the happiest woman in the world.” She leaned back to look at Nanaba’s equally tearstained face. “And marrying you would make me the luckiest. I don’t care about a wedding or a marriage certificate or rings. I’ll marry you in my heart.”

“Oh, actually,” Nanaba chuckled at Petra’s confused look and then she pulled something out of her pocket. It was a ring. “This was actually meant for Carmen,” she explained. At Sina before the Salmoneus mess, Nanaba had spent an entire night telling Petra all about her life and who she used to be which included the entire Carmen incident. She held the ring up for Petra to see. “But she never got to wear it since she left me before the wedding. It was my grandmother’s, so I’ve kept this with me until now.” She took Petra’s hand in her own and smiled up at her. “I’d like you to have this, as proof that you’re my wife.”

Petra started to sob all over again. “I think my period is close,” she said with a tearful laugh. Nanaba laughed with her and then embraced her after gently slipping the ring on.

“Oh god, I’m so happy right now.” Nanaba said against Petra’s ear. “I’ve been thinking about this since we got into Sina. I’ve wanted this so badly.”

Petra turned to kiss Nanaba’s temple, and then the blonde turned her head too and caught Petra’s lips for a searing kiss. She didn’t pull back for air and when Petra tugged at her shirt she took the hint and lifted her to shift them properly onto the bed. Once they were properly situated Nanaba finally ended the kiss, though reluctantly, biting Petra’s bottom lip as she withdrew to make her intent obvious.

Breathing heavily, Nanaba said “I want to make love to you.”

Petra inhaled sharply as a wave of arousal swept over her body. Instead of responding with words she roughly pulled Nanaba down by her shirt and started kissing her hungrily.

Minutes passed of mere lip locking, and then Nanaba broke the kiss to trail her lips along Petra’s jaw and throat. She bit down lightly on the side of Petra’s neck and applied sharp suction until she felt it was sufficient enough to leave a pretty mark. All the while Petra had gasped and twitched at the sensation. It made her lower back tingle pleasantly, and suddenly it was getting difficult to breathe with so much clothes on.

As if reading her mind Nanaba sat up to pull Petra with her and throw her shirt off. The blonde woman did the same to her own shirt and bra, and when she bent down to continue her kisses she reached around Petra and skilfully undid the clasp of her bra. The treasures that were then revealed soon felt the gentle touch of Nanaba’s fingertips, and minutes later the blonde woman was climbing even lower, pressing her lips firmly to Petra’s stomach and darting her tongue out to make the orange-blonde moan and squirm.

Even lower she went until she impatiently tugged the last of Petra’s clothes off and then dove in to taste what was only hers. Her tongue worked slowly, skilfully, creating patterns that only she knew and focusing mostly on the ones that made Petra moan the loudest. Nanaba had a hand pressed to Petra’s lower abdomen and the other she had pressed to her inner thigh, where her thumb caressed circles. Petra couldn’t help but run both hands through Nanaba’s hair and then tug on it as she arched and moaned her pleasure.

Before she could reach the precipice of pleasure Nanaba’s achingly warm mouth suddenly left her body. Petra barely managed to crack her eyes open, and her chest was heaving with her laboured breaths. She was about to protest loudly, to yell that she had been so close, but then Nanaba was on top of her and fully naked this time. They both moaned simply due to the delicious touch of purely naked skin.

Petra pressed her thighs to Nanaba’s hips and moaned when Nanaba pressed against her.

“I love you,” Nanaba managed between heavy breaths. She wrapped one arm around Petra’s body and then the other travelled down between their bodies. When Nanaba entered Petra she did so with a rough thrust of her hips, making Petra groan loudly and then dig her nails into Nanaba’s back.

Nanaba created a soft rhythm of thrusts and watched Petra’s face as it flushed with each new wave of pleasure. Her own heart was beating fast and growing warm, as well as the rest of her body. It was becoming increasingly difficult to speak, as each time Nanaba jerked her hips Petra moaned in such a way that the blonde woman had to bite her lip to suppress her own moan of delight. Eventually it became too much and Petra pulled Nanaba’s face down to her own to give her a clumsy, desperate kiss just as she tensed and then trembled in orgasm.

Nanaba came then too, now unable not to moan and doing so right against Petra’s ear. The smaller woman shuddered because of that, and eventually she felt Nanaba’s hips still and both their trembling stopped.

Nanaba removed herself from Petra’s warmth and then she collapsed on top of her and simply listened to her wife’s now gentle breathing. Petra lovingly ran her hand through Nanaba’s hair, smiling and enjoying the wonderful afterglow.

It had felt like an eternity of bliss, but it also felt like it had ended far too soon. They still needed to fetch Nova though, and Petra now definitely agreed that Nova couldn’t have been here.

“When would you like to fetch our daughter?” Petra asked with a pleased grin.

“Just… just let me recover…” Nanaba responded listlessly. She had one hand pressed to Petra’s back and her thumb was caressing circles, but then she suddenly paused and lifted her body to look down at Petra. “Say that again,” she said fiercely.

Suddenly Petra’s body flushed again. “I said, when would you like to fetch _our_ daughter?” She absolutely loved the sudden possessive look Nanaba was giving her.

Suddenly enough to make her cry out in surprise Nanaba entered her again, hips situated almost perfectly between her thighs like they belonged there, and then Petra was moaning all over again and they would end up being a little late to fetch Nova, and guiltily Petra didn’t mind.

XxX

“Oh, I think they’re done,” Ymir commented with a snicker.

“Ymir! I told you to stop eavesdropping!”

Ymir looked up from where she had been crouched by the wall, a glass pressed to it and her ear pressed to the glass. “What? They shouldn’t be so loud then.”

Nanaba and Petra were right next door, and due to some suspicious noises Ymir had decided to go and knock on their door to find out if everything was okay. That’s when she had heard Nanaba’s little speech, and when the moaning started she hurried on back to her room, where Krista waited. The blonde had been worried until Ymir explained what she had heard.

“Well you wouldn’t appreciate them listening in on us, would you?”

Ymir finally put the glass away and jumped onto the bed to join Krista. “It can’t be helped if they do, since you moan so loudly.”

Krista blushed bright red and slapped Ymir’s shoulder. “Ymir!”

The brunette chuckled and then she suddenly tackled Krista and pinned her arms above her head. “Listening to them kind of turned me on,” she admitted.

“Ew,” Krista said. She turned her head to the side and refused to meet Ymir’s gaze.

Ymir decided to make Krista rethink her opinion by bending down and biting lightly on her neck. Krista struggled not to moan, especially when Ymir found her earlobe and did that thing with her tongue that she did; the thing she was really good at.

“I don’t have time, it’s almost lunch time and today I need to help serve.”

Ymir ignored Krista and continued to lick and kiss all along her throat. Krista didn’t struggle and before long she was panting and moaning, especially when Ymir’s hand disappeared underneath her shirt and found its way under her bra. Krista inhaled sharply when Ymir lightly pinched her nipple, and then they both startled when someone knocked at the door.

“Krista? The boss lady is waiting for you. She sent me to fetch you.”

Ymir was content to ignore the person and continue but Krista wasn’t. The blonde quickly removed her hand and jumped off of the bed to fix her clothing and hair

“I-I’ll be right there! Ymir will take me, it’s fine!”

The person sighed but relented. “Okay, but hurry please.”

“Kristaaaa,” Ymir whined. “Are you seriously going to leave me this hot and bothered?”

Krista went over to Ymir and surprised her by giving her a long, passionate kiss. Afterwards she tugged the brunette to her feet and then quickly fixed her clothing and hair. “You made yourself horny, Ymir. It isn’t my problem.”

“Kristaaa, how can you say things like that and expect me not to get more excited?”

Krista giggled this time and pressed a hand to Ymir’s shirt. “I don’t have to help with dinner tonight, so I’m free after lunch. Can you hold out until then?”

Ymir smirked this time. “I can, but can you?” She suddenly pulled Krista against her and kissed her senseless, while her knee lifted between her legs and pressed against the crotch of her jeans. Krista moaned and then it was all gone when Ymir stepped back.

The brunette hurried to the door and exited the room just as Krista threw a shoe at her. “Ymir!”

Just at that moment Nanaba and Petra exited their room but they paused when another shoe was thrown and Ymir barely dodged it.

“I’m sorry!” Ymir yelled as a toothbrush was tossed at her this time. “Geez!”

Krista hurried out of the room to pick the items up and then she noticed the couple that had paused by their door. Krista blushed insanely red and ran back into their room. Nanaba lifted an eyebrow in confusion.

“You guys can be loud,” Ymir said with a grin.

Petra realized instantly and she quickly hid behind Nanaba to hide her embarrassment, while Nanaba merely grinned and cocked her eyebrow even higher. “So are you two,” she said.

Ymir’s eyes widened and then she hurried to follow Krista. “Lunch is almost ready!” she yelled over her shoulder and then the door shut.

Nanaba chuckled. “Give her a taste of her own medicine.” she said.

Petra sighed lightly but her embarrassment hadn’t dwindled. “I don’t want to be so embarrassed but… I never thought that I was that loud.”

Nanaba slipped an arm around her waist and smiled reassuringly down at her. “Sex is a natural thing. You don’t need to feel embarrassed. I don’t care if others know that I love you that way.”

Petra wrapped her arms around Nanaba and buried her face against her chest. “You’re right,” she mumbled. “Oh yeah!” she suddenly exclaimed and pulled back to look up at Nanaba. “When you came by after your shift, this other woman, Anne, made a comment when you left. I wasn’t sure how you would feel if I corrected her, so I wanted to ask you about it first.”

“Oh?” Nanaba intertwined her fingers with Petra’s and then they started walking down the hallway, headed for Sixth to the dining hall to fetch Nova and then have lunch.

“She thinks that you’re a man and my husband,” Petra admitted.

Nanaba’s eyebrows came together for a moment and then her face dissolved into amusement and she chuckled. “It’s sad how often that happened even before the apocalypse.”

Petra frowned. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Sure, you look kind of manly but I love you that way. I love you exactly the way you are.”

“So,” Nanaba gently bumped Petra with her hip, “you can tell anyone whatever you want to about me. If you feel more comfortable with me being your ‘husband’, then I’m fine with that.”

“But I don’t. I don’t care what others think. I was only worried about how you would feel.”

Nanaba smiled gently. “That warms my heart, thank you.”

They entered the dining hall and walked over to the back where the children were. Nova was awake and drooling over one of the toys she had been playing with, and she was definitely pleased to see her parents when they appeared by the playpen. Nanaba bent to pick the small blonde up and she accepted a tissue from Petra to wipe the drool from Nova’s chin.

“Such a messy kid,” Nanaba said with an affectionate smile.

“Well you drool in your sleep, so…” Petra laughed at the surprised look Nanaba sent her way. “What? We’ve been sleeping together for how long now? I would have noticed sooner or later.”

Nanaba turned to Nova and parent and child shared a look. “Wanna ditch the shorty to find a good table?” Nanaba asked. She laughed loudly when Nova giggled and nodded as if she was actually agreeing.

Petra didn’t appreciate the short comment but she noticed Anne approaching and refrained from complaining. She turned to the brunette with a pleasant smile. “Thank you for watching her, I really appreciate it.”

Anne smiled and waved her hands. “Oh no, it was a pleasure! She missed you both a lot though.” Anne snuck a glance at Nanaba and Petra didn’t miss the way she almost swooned when Nanaba smiled her way.

“By the way, I’d like to clear up a misunderstanding,” Petra said. She went to Nanaba’s side and took her hand. “Nanaba isn’t my husband,” she said. Anne took a breath to apologise but then Petra continued. “Because she’s my wife.”

All the air from Anne’s lungs escaped in a sudden exhalation and confusion and shock consumed her face. For a long moment she didn’t know what to say and then she covered her mouth as her shoulders shook.

“Oh geez, I’m so sorry.” she said, surprising the couple that had been sure that Anne would have reacted terrible. “I really didn’t mean any disrespect. I genuinely thought that Nanaba is a man.” She sheepishly scratched the back of her neck. “It’s totally fine that you aren’t though! Before this mess started I actually had a sister like you. Everyone thought she was my brother. It was hilarious.” Anne smiled at them both and then at Nova. “You all three are very lucky to still be together. And I keep to what I said earlier,” she gave Petra a wink. “I wish I had someone like Nanaba.”

Nanaba was greatly amused by the sudden turn of events and apparently Nova was too. “It’s fine,” she said. “I understand. No hard feelings.”

Anne couldn’t help but blush lightly at hearing Nanaba speak directly to her for the first time. Even now that she knew that Nanaba was actually a woman, her slight crush hadn’t gone away. A person was still a person, and Nanaba was one hell of a person.

“G-great1 I think someone is calling me. Enjoy lunch!” Anne quickly turned and hurried to a small group of women close to her age. They had been standing there and watching, and when Anne joined them they seemed to gossip about something. Anne said something to them and their amusement quickly drained away to shock. They all then immediately glanced up at Nanaba and the blonde woman merely smiled.

“Sweetheart, I see Erwin with the others. Shall we go?”

Nanaba glanced down at Petra with that amused grin still on her face. “Sure thing.” She glanced once more at the group of ladies and couldn’t help but wink at them just for the fun of it.

They all blushed and looked away, and then Anne started to laugh at all of them, all the while blushing herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	30. Chapter 30

Kings and queens always seemed as though they were above the population they ruled. They were seen in the old days as messengers, or even incarnations, of a god or powerful entity, therefore respect was given without question and no one seemed to think they had primal needs. The citizens had even gone as far as to consider that a king was not even mortal; his family were truly superior and submission to the powerful was a natural instinct.

However, that was obviously not the case, because royalty was full of humans who gained their power through intelligence or sheer force, and were reckoned by the people they led for their qualities.

It was the same with König. An unintentional leader, König grew to be a king without asking for it. He ordered soldiers to fight, he listened to complaints and provided solutions, and he did his best to assure a peaceful and prospering society. König only ever showed his strong side, and displayed aggression towards enemies or anything that threatened to break the peace.

Of course, that didn’t prevent him from being kind and humourous.

König maintained a sense of humour, which was especially crucial in a time where morale was low and hope was bleak, yet also remained firm and just in the times he needed to be. His soldiers admired him and his people adored him. König was the type of man who was perfect to lead.

Despite his qualities and his excellent leadership, König was still human. He had faults, feelings, weaknesses. König did well to hide them, but they were still there, lurking, waiting to be pulled out and used against him.

The man stood at a grave with his cloak weighing his shoulders. He had his hands in his pockets, clenched and shaking, and his head bowed low. His characteristic cloak was damp from the rain, and his hood was pulled over his head. The rain meshed with his tears as they fell to the equally damp soil.

“Olaf…”

König shook his head and sighed. He crouched and placed his palm over the overturned ground and closed his eyes. Olaf was not just an ordinary man - Olaf was the heart of the survivors. Friendly, optimistic and cheerful, Olaf had always managed to bring the morale up in the worst of times. All survivors met Olaf before being introduced to the population of the bunkers, and so all knew the heart of the man who kept them all sewn together.

Who could even dare to hurt a pure soul like his? Who would even think of putting an end to the one person who saw the sliver of light in a storm? Without even thinking, König knew the answer but refused to say it aloud. It pained him to have to admit this to himself, because he had held out for so long against the possibility of having to confront his brother. Family was supposed to stick together, right?

“You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here for too long, sir.”

König opened his eyes and straightened to see Heidi standing above him. Her eyes were melancholic and her expression devastated. Of all the people who had known Olaf, Heidi had been the most affected. Her attire was completely black, and the bags under her eyes had been there for weeks.

The woman had an umbrella extended over König’s head, and a gun in her other hand. The only place they could bury Olaf was outside, and so they chose a small patch of land in the schoolyard above the bunkers to lay the man to rest. It is because of this that only König was allowed to visit Olaf’s grave, along with anyone who König approved.

König laughed humourlessly and shrugged. “Funny you would worry about a little cold over all of this.” He waved his arm in an arc to emphasize his point, then retreated to his cloak. Heidi remained silent and stared at the tomb heading with Olaf’s name engraved on it.

“We never knew how old he really was,” König explained, eyes hooding in sadness, “some said he was starting his twenties, other say he was in his thirties, why, a child even suggested he was in his sixties!” König laughed with humour this time and smiled fondly. “But he was always a child in his heart.”

“Very true,” Heidi sighed. She kept the umbrella over her head. “I miss him.”

“We all do.”

“I loved him.”

“We all did.”

Heidi shook her head. “I _loved_ him.” And then she turned on her heel and returned to the school, leaving König to stare at her in shock.

The man returned his gaze to the grave and felt his mood deflate. “Olaf, I hope you’re in paradise somewhere, enjoying all the summer breezes and sunshine. I would hold on to this hope, but it left when you died. Nothing seems to be working out lately; our plans are crumbling in front of our eyes, like a sandcastle washing away with the tide. Time lessens the pain, but it can never erase the scars.”

König began to walk away, toward the school, and he frowned as his thoughts deepened.

“What angers me the most, Olaf, is not that you died. It’s that a _human_ killed you. Whether it was premeditated, or simply a murder to grab my attention, I’ll never know. But you did not die for the sake of life, you died for a reason that no one knows and no one will ever know.”

The tombstone, made entirely out of white rock smolten and hardened, sunk a bit further into the ground.

x

Ymir grumbled to herself as she squinted at the complicated innards of a car. This one had recently gone bad in the middle of nowhere, and so she had been sent here to get it fixed before sundown, or if not, then to tow it back to the bunkers. Krista had initially worried for her, saying she should just tow it back and work on it here, but Ymir had snapped that she would get it fixed in no time.

It had been three weeks since Nanaba had officially announce the union between her and Petra, and Ymir was completely thrilled for them. She had made jokes left and right about Nanaba being whipped and Nova now having to deal with two obsessive parents. Of course, the older blonde had smacked the back of her head in reproach and asked her if she was planning anything with Krista, but Ymir had been too flustered by the question to properly answer. Her little blonde had laughed and smiled patiently, commenting on the availability of rings in an apocalypse.

Ymir smiled to herself as those thoughts came to mind. She would definitely get Krista a ring if she could.

The brunette was bent over the front of a car, the hood lifted and the engine bare for all to see. Ymir knew that there wasn’t a problem with the fluids, and the lights were working, so obviously there wasn’t any need for a new battery. However, there were weird noises that sounded like chains being pulled against gears that made Ymir think.

She grabbed the battery and gave it a firm shake, clicking her tongue when she felt it was loose.

“Gotcha, bastard,” she muttered. Behind her, a boy peering over her shoulder stepped back hurriedly when Ymir moved away and dug into her toolbox for what she needed. It was a good thing they had managed to get her all the tools she asked for, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to fix this problem; it required a special tool.

When Ymir tightened the bolts on the battery, she gave a thumbs-up to the woman in the car, who started the engine and cheered when it ignited. Ymir grinned proudly and slammed the hood shut, startling the teen who had been inching toward her in awe.

“How… how did you do that?” he asked in amazement.

Ymir lifted an eyebrow and gave him a weird look, then started packing her things. “I just knew what the problem was and how to fix it. That’s all. There’s no magic to it, just logic.”

The boy nodded. “Yeah, totally! Could you teach me how to do that? You know, fix things?”

Without even glancing back, Ymir entered the support car and started it. The boy entered it with her and smiled hopefully. “Nope!”

The boy deflated and pouted. “Aw, but! I could totally help you out, and even do jobs for you if you wanna stay with your girlfriend.” At this, Ymir perked slightly and the teen grinned while wiggling his eyebrows.

But then Ymir laughed loudly and drove the car toward Snowpeak. “Nice try, kid, but no. König gave me this job, and I’d have to ask him if I can train you. I don’t feel overwhelmed so I’m fine for now. Maybe if things get rougher I’ll consider teaching you.”

The boy sighed and tightened his hold on his gun. “Alright, I understand. I’m just tired of being a soldier - I don’t wanna shoot things or kill things, I wanna fix ‘em, make things better.”

“You are making things better.”

“I know, but,” the boy struggled to express himself, “what I mean is, I don’t want to destroy something to make the world a better place. I want to be constructive.”

The brunette shrugged and turned the wheel. She approached the warehouse where they kept their cars and heavy machinery, and waved to a soldier who unlocked the gate and allowed her to enter. Parking the car, she exited and opened the hatch somewhere near the end of the room. This was a direct opening to the Fourth that Hanji had suggested for small jobs like this. They had an escape route for survivors, but it was best that it was kept hidden from any intruders until the need for it arose. Thus, a little door that led to a ladder allowed them to descend in a room constructed in the Fourth.

The Fourth hall was the most peculiar one out of all six. Unlike the other five halls, this one was built on a slope, and ascended in altitude to reach ground level at the end. Obviously, they needed such a structure in order to allow everyone to exit safely and quickly. It was wider than all the other halls, and much longer.

Ymir hurried down the slope and exited the Fourth, nodding to the guards stationed there. She quickly turned down the Fifth and sighed in relief when the boy stopped following her and instead went down the Sixth.

Lately, many men and women had been asking if they could learn her trade, or even started becoming more social around her in hopes of being asked if they wanted to give it a try. Honestly, the brunette was fine with all the work she had, and preferred working alone to working with others. This way, she was sure nothing would get screwed up and if it did, then at least she would know what to fix.

Teaching others just gave her more responsibilities than she already had, so she always bluntly rejected demands and instead resumed her own solo career.

Ymir stopped short of Hanji’s laboratory - the woman had claimed it as hers and even stuck a plaque with the words ‘HANJI’s LAB’ on the door - and knocked. She hadn’t seen the woman for days, and she supposed König could wait for her report. The man was constantly busy anyhow.

“Come in!” Hanji’s assistant, a pretty blonde, opened the door and allowed Ymir inside. The brunette nodded in thanks and raised an eyebrow at the mass of lab coat-covered men and women running around with papers and machinery. Ymir was tempted to stick her foot out and trip one of them, but strongly resisted the urge. The last thing she needed was to listen to one of Hanji’s incessant tirades about proper etiquette around lab materials.

The lab was completely white - floor, walls and ceiling - and filled with testing machines and computers. Most of the power supply was provided thanks to the backup generators, but there was also a small percentage due to a prototype of a condensed hydroelectric generator that Hanji had set up. It was still a work in progress, and needed much improvement.

There were papers everywhere, and constant activity. Men and women were vigorously typing, testing machines or debating heatedly on something. It was a mess and _very_ busy. Ymir wondered if these people even slept, or ate, or even pissed.

“Scientists are crazy,” Ymir sighed, marching with long strides to where Hanji was hunched over a metal table, in her own little cubicle. She had a welding helmet over her face and a welding power supply in her hand. Sparks flew from the metal she was working on and Ymir was forced to put on a welding helmet and leather gloves, just like Hanji. When Ymir peeked over her shoulder to observe, Hanji jumped and slammed her head back. Ymir stumbled in surprise and bumped into a rushing scientist, who in turn tripped and dropped his five-hundred page report on Hanji’s findings.

“NOOOOOOO!!!” the man wailed in agony, desperately putting the report back together. He completely ignored Ymir, who swallowed nervously and met Hanji’s furious gaze. The woman had lifted her helmet to glare at the brunette, who knew better than to rise up to the challenge.

“What were you thinking?!” Hanji grit through her teeth.

Ymir was shocked by Hanji’s tone, as well as her appearance. The woman looked extremely pale, with dark rings under her eyes and dulled orbs. She looked much older than she actually was, and was more impatient than Ymir remembered. Ymir had never heard Hanji speak like this; she was always cheerful and understanding.

“I was thinking that you need a break - you look like you’re dead,” Ymir replied, rolling her eyes as she lifted her helmet as well.

Hanji deflated and sighed, scratching the back of her head. “I know, I know… but I need to finish this! I’m so close to perfecting it, I only need to weld the handle and locate a proper power supply, and it’s all done!”

Ymir tilted her head in confusion. “What’s almost done?”

Hanji grinned. “This toaster! I made it myself - look, you put the bread in, and it comes out grilled! It even has a handle to lower the bread and adjust the temperature. I’m a genius, aren’t I?”

“Are you fucking with me?” Ymir asked blandly.

Hanji became serious all of a sudden and Ymir understood then. The brunette had a knack for seeing through bullshit.

The scientist turned to the table and jotted down a note on a piece of paper. She handed it to Ymir, who crumpled it and stuffed it in her pocket, then nodded.

“Well, it sounds delicious,” Ymir agreed, “and you are a genius, just not for the right things.”

Hanji laughed and returned to her project. Ymir glanced around her and what she saw made her eyes widen in awe.

An object, shaped like a gun, with a thin barrel and chamber and a handle and trigger insulated with rubber. Hanji smirked and lowered her helmet, repowering her welding power supply and shooing Ymir away with her other hand.

“I’ll go to sleep when I finish. Don’t you have a report to hand in?”

Ymir rolled her eyes and threw the safety equipment to the floor. She left the cubicle and exited the laboratory, heading farther down the hall. Finally reaching König’s war room, Ymir knocked then entered and stood in front of the table. König seemed to be heavily discussing something with Erwin, who seemed extremely displeased.

The brunette cleared her throat and waited for both men to look at her. König sighed and waited patiently for Ymir to announce her presence.

“Ymir, mechanic, returning from a fixing job somewhere in the northeast,” Ymir boredly recited, “the repairs were successful and the car is running again. Your men should be back before tomorrow.”

König smiled with strain and nodded. “Excellent, thank you, Ymir. If there’s anything else you need, just let me know. I’ll have someone fetch you if trouble comes up.”

Ymir saluted and left the room, but gave Erwin a confused glance, who kept his face expressionless. The brunette closed the door, looked around, then pressed her ear to it, wanting to know what they were arguing about.

“...König, that is pointless. They will counter us and destroy us.”

 _They?_ Ymir thought, frowning. _Who’s ‘they’?_

“Erwin, I have told you countless times: my men are well-equipped and well-trained. A little rebellion will be easy to repel.”

Erwin raised his voice and pushed his chair back. “And I have told you countless times: the rebels have access to _explosions._ Our plan didn’t work; the safe house with all of our supplies was seized by rebels and now we have to take it back. I’m sure if they wanted to, they could place traps all around the area and kill any troops you send over.”

König sighed and slid a hand down his face. “What do you suggest we do, then? Do we forfeit the safe house and move on, or try to take it back?”

Erwin pressed his lips together in thought and traced the route to and from the safe house on the map. “It’s not far,” he pointed out, “we could send a small team over there.”

“And the mines?”

“Hanji is a genius - she’ll figure out a method to sniff them out.”

König nodded and paced around the room. “I’ll set up a team of my best men, and hopefully they’ll carry out the plan in one go. How long would it take for Hanji to develop this technology?”

Erwin thought of all the projects Hanji had going on and smirked. “With the help of her assistants? A few days. Alone? You’ll have it in two days.”

König laughed and slapped Erwin on the shoulder. “You, my friend, are a very funny man. I’ll see to it that she is left alone for the duration of the week. Those researchers need a break every now and then.”

“Thank you.”

Ymir quickly rushed down the hall when the discussion ended. Her mind was reeling - they had a safe house with a ton of supplies, under siege? And no one had told them? What else were they hiding from her? She remembered the note in her pocket and pulled it out to read its contents.

_It’s a secret for now, but it’s definitely not a toaster. It could toast, though, if you think about it._

_You’ll find out later._

_-Hanji_

Ymir angrily ripped up the note and discarded the remains on the floor. It would be cleaned up later, so she didn’t much care. It was too cynical for anyone other than her to decipher anyway, therefore it was fine if someone else read it. But really? Did Hanji have to pile up the secrets that their leaders were keeping from them?

Ymir respected Erwin, and thought him a good leader. He had a good head on his shoulders and always pulled the group together in times of distress. However, what were they up to? Why did they have to relocate supplies to another safe house? Was something dangerous coming?

Logically, Ymir knew that this could have just been a precautionary action in case something ever did happen, but they screwed up - they lost a shit ton of supplies to insane rebels and now they couldn’t get them back. This is what angered Ymir the most, and she definitely needed to speak to Nanaba and the others about this. If this became too dangerous for them, then they needed to leave this area right away.

Unfortunately, there was no rest for the wicked, and even less for the innocent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	31. Chapter 31

Life could sometimes be a fleeting, frivolous thing. Some people were made to survive while others were meant to fall. The survival of the fittest played an essential role in this new world. If you had the upper hand you best use it, or else someone higher than you could crush you underneath their foot. Nothing was sane, and safety was never guaranteed.

Nanaba stared listlessly out of the combat truck’s window as they drove across rocky, snow covered dirt roads. She was part of the day’s scouting group, sent out by König to search the next town for supplies and survivors. She hadn’t wanted to go, but orders were orders. At least she knew that her family was safe.

If only she had that kind of relief for her own safety.

The sun was burning as it splayed across Nanaba’s face, and due to the chilling cold from outside it was more than welcome, if not slightly uncomfortable. Nanaba’s military uniform felt tight and hot, and every time the truck hit a hole or ran over something, the occupants would jostle along with the vehicle and grumble in annoyance. Nanaba was the only one not showing her irritation. Sure, she was definitely as irritated as the other women, but not enough to comment about it every three minutes.

Their group only consisted of women. König had said that women were less threatening than men, and therefore would be more appealing to any scared survivor. This irked the women that had been assembled, but none had called König out on how they felt insulted. At least they were more needed than men, and at least women were provided equal opportunity. If any person, male or female, was able to join the Snowpeak Fighters then they were allowed to. Most of the women were even fiercer than the guys, so Nanaba questioned König’s logic.

The group consisted of five. Their leader was Alphard, an intense woman with cold grey eyes, long black hair tied at the base of her neck and a frightening smirk. She barely spoke and when she did her voice bore no emotion. Most of the time she even looked bored. Nanaba had heard rumours that Alphard had participated in terrorist activities before the end, but none of that mattered now. Alphard had dedicated herself to Snowpeak, and that was where her loyalty rested.

Alphard was currently driving and beside her in the passenger seat was another frightening woman. Revy, as she told everyone to call her, was a former gang member before the end had started and she joined Snowpeak. She had tattoos on both arms. It was nothing fancy and merely black patterns winding along her skin. Revy was currently smoking and glancing out of the widow with half closed eyes. Her window was cracked open slightly for the smoke, a slight breeze causing her red hair to flutter, and she cursed whenever the car ran into a pothole.

Sitting beside Nanaba was a woman named Kagefusa, though she preferred to merely be called Kage. She had short white hair, almost like Homura’s but shorter and a tattoo on her left cheek that resembled something like claw marks. Her eyes were hard as steel and incredibly sharp, but she was just as calm as Nanaba.

The last of the group preferred to be alone, so she had climbed into the back of the truck despite the cold air. Her face was covered, but underneath the hat she had chin length blue hair. A mole sat on her cheek, underneath her right eye that was a startlingly beautiful shade of violet. Most of the time she remained silent, and unlike the others she wore a leather jacket over her military attire. Nanaba could sense that she wasn’t as hard as the others but she was definitely skilled. Her name was Rui.

Nanaba had spoken to all of them, so they weren’t strangers. Many times they had been tasked to walk the perimeter of Snowpeak in pairs and to pass the time they would talk. Out of all of them Rui seemed the most sane and she wasn’t completely against speaking of her past. Nanaba had been open to all of them, often telling them about her times before having Nova and afterwards. They had also all shared their survival stories. Nanaba was sure that all of these women had lost a lot when the apocalypse began.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Revy yelled furiously. “Are we fucking there yet? This road is shit broken or something.”

Alphard tightened her grip on the wheel but barely reacted. “An hour and we should be there,” she answered plainly.

“Fuck me,” Revy growled.

“Shut the fuck up Revy,” Kage growled over to her. “I can’t take your voice for another damn second.”

Revy immediately turned in her seat to glare murder at the white-haired soldier. “Oh, and what will you do about it jackass?”

“I’ll rip your fucking tongue out, bitch.”

Revy paused. She regarded Kage’s angry face for a long moment, but then Alphard suddenly shoved her against the car door without taking her eyes away from the road.

“Stop it, the both of you. We don’t have time for your meaningless fights. Contain your raging boners, for fuck sakes.”

Kage and Revy both turned to Alphard with wide, shocked eyes, and then they shared an uncomfortable look and backed down.

“Whatever,” Kage muttered.

“Fucking hell,” Revy growled softly under her breath.

Alphard glanced into the rear-view mirror and looked at Nanaba. She flicked her eyes back to the road and resisted an irritated sigh.

Nanaba had a hand pressed over her mouth to hide her amused grin. It amused her greatly that Alphard held so much command over the others, even though she barely raised her voice. A mere warning from her shut them up fairly quickly and they definitely listened since the next hour went by without the usual angered swearing because of the bumpy ride.

When they eventually made it into the town they were meant to search, Alphard parked the truck just before entering. She hopped out of the vehicle and stood a moment to survey the area. The others remained in the car and waited but Nanaba climbed out and joined the other woman. It amused her more that she was taller than Alphard, too.

“There are no walkers,” Alphard commented the moment Nanaba stepped up to her side. “I don’t like this.”

Nanaba looked out over the horizon and observed that Alphard was indeed right. There were definitely dead bodies littering the ground but none that still moved. Most of them were stripped to the bone, too, and it was obvious what had done that to them.

“Someone is capturing them,” Rui spoke up suddenly. She was standing in the truck bed, firearm held firmly in her arms and eyes alert as she looked at their surroundings.

Alphard spared her a glance and then she nodded. She had guesses as much, too.

“But why…?” Nanaba voiced worriedly. Alphard gave her a hard look.

“An undead army can be more effective than a live one,” Alphard answered. She suddenly smirked. “I would know, since I had tried it. But it can only work so far.”

“How do you know that someone is catching them though?”

Alphard inclined her head towards Rui and Nanaba glanced up at her. The attractive woman jumped out of the truck and approached something by the side of the road. Nanaba followed and her eyes widened when she saw what had caught Rui’s attention.

It was a pit and inside was scattered footsteps and pieces of flesh.

“There are tire tracks over there,” Rui pointed with her gun to the front of them. “Footsteps around here,” she circled her gun around the pit, indicating the collection of booted footprints. “The tires lead that way, off of the road.” She pointed her gun to their left, where they had come from, but then arced to the right and off of the path they had taken.

Nanaba was impressed and slightly ashamed that she hadn’t deduced that much as quickly.

Suddenly Rui put a hand to her shoulder as she was about to pass her, and when Nanaba looked at her the woman pulled her scarf down and offered a small smile. “There is probably nothing here and we’ll return soon. Don’t look so worried.” She removed her hand and then climbed back into the truck and sat down where she had been sitting the entire ride so far.

Nanaba rubbed the back of her neck and followed Alphard’s actions by getting back into the truck. Alphard explained the situation to the others, but they seemed to have barely listened. Kage looked eerily pleased and Revy was biting her lip so hard that a line of blood ran from her teeth to drip from her chin. It was obvious that they hadn’t been able to contain their anger towards each other once their squad leader was away.

“So why did we waste more time by stopping?” Revy growled at Alphard the moment the raven haired solider started the car.

“To observe the situation before we complete our mission,” Alphard growled right back. “We can’t simply run in here with our eyes closed.”

“Tch,” Revy flicked her cigarette out of the window and shut it. “Fine, let’s go then.”

For once Alphard silently obeyed.

XxX

Ymir wondered aimlessly through the halls in search of her friends. After realizing that something was amiss she was determined to gather her group and tell all of them. Once everyone knew, they could make an educated decision together.

To stay or to leave?

Staying if shit was about to happen was not an option. Ymir was sick and tired of being dragged through more shit because humans forgot the difference between right and wrong. It was nice to have been at peace for the short time that they had been there, but it was definitely not worth it yet. They barely really knew anyone, and König had yet to gain their full trust. At least, not Ymir’s. König had done nothing but bark orders from his throne so far and he had done nothing of substance to prove to Ymir that his word was as good as his actions.

The thought of something happening also terrified her. Where could they possibly go if shit went down? Suddenly Ymir remembered that note from Hanji and her steps hurried towards the crazy scientist’s lab. She had been there a moment ago and it already felt like hours. Ymir’s mind was amiss with chaos and worry, but mostly anger.

She found Hanji where she had left her and wasted no time for words. She merely threw Hanji out of her chair, grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off of her feet. Hanji instinctively grabbed onto Ymir’s wrists and her eyes were wide with fright.

“Ymir?”

“Hanji, something tells me that you know what’s going on here,” Ymir growled. “Tell me what Erwin and König meant with rebel groups, backup locations and hordes of zombies. What the hell is going on?!”

Hanji glanced around in worry at the men and women watching from all around the lab. A trickle of sweat slid down the side of her face and she flashed a weak smile.

“Ymir, please lower your voice.”

“Answer me damnit! I will not let you assholes put Krista’s life in danger!”

Hanji winced at the loud yell and released Ymir’s wrists to wave her hands. “Ymir, please I’m begging you not to make a scene.”

Ymir frowned more deeply but she did lower her voice. “Hanji, I swear to god…”

“Okay, fine! Put me down and let’s go somewhere private. Please.” The sudden intense seriousness in Hanji’s eyes convinced Ymir enough to make her drop the scientist and roughly shove her to the door.

“Make it quick, Hanji. I want to gather the others before night falls. You better have a damn good explanation.”

XxX

Unlike the immediate entrance of the town there were zombies littering the streets further on. The group of scouters had parked in the alleyway of a relatively large mall, possibly the largest one of the town, and they were now currently searching the building for any usable resources. They were tasked to bring any food or object that could be of use, especially medical supplies.

Alphard had gone ahead with Kage and Revy to inspect the mall, while she tasked Nanaba and Rui with keeping watch outside. She didn’t trust leaving the other two alone to guard them since they would most likely get into a pity fistfight and get them all killed.

Nanaba gripped her gun against her stomach, pointed at the ground, and scuffed her shoe against the ground. It had been a while since the others had disappeared into the mall and she was starting to grow restless. More than anything she just wanted this to be over so that she could go back. Nanaba felt slightly ashamed that she was more concerned with returning home than doing her job properly. But realizing that made Nanaba internally scold herself and straighten her posture. If she wanted to get home so eagerly then she should shut up about it and focus on the task at hand. She couldn’t afford to be distracted if something were to happen.

Rui was as restless as Nanaba, but for a different reason. She kept feeling like the surrounding shadows were creeping on them, and the sensation made her shiver in disquiet. Due to this she kept a hard, focused gaze all around them. Her posture was straight and stiff, and her gun was steadily rising to point in front of her, no longer passively staring at the ground.

Nanaba eventually noticed how tense and alert Rui was, so she let her shoulders rise and fall in a sigh and then she approached the younger woman.

“You look really tense.”

Rui’s eyes widened in surprise and she turned to Nanaba. She realized that she had forgotten the older woman’s presence. Rui relaxed and released a long breath. She grinned sheepishly and once more let her gun lazily point at the ground.

“This place just feels off, sorry.”

Nanaba grinned too. “I understand. It’s better to be on alert, but you sort of looked constipated.”

Rui’s eyes widened further and a short blush dusted her cheeks. “That must have been unattractive.” She ran a hand over her burning cheek and laughed in amusement.

Nanaba couldn’t resist laughing with. “I didn’t mean to be rude, sorry. Just thought I’d lighten the mood.”

“Nah,” Rui reached out and clapped Nanaba on the back, her grin now fully stretched in amusement. “It helped. Thanks. I get freaked out easily.” She retracted her arm and glanced around them once more.

Nanaba smiled slightly and did the same, observing their surroundings from all sides. There was no immediate threat, but Nanaba did see a zombie slowly stumbling towards them. Its arms had been cut off at the shoulders and its lower jaw had been ripped off.

Rui noticed it first and when she made to walk towards it voices suddenly emerged from the mall entrance and Alphard stormed out with Revy and Kage in each hand. She was pulling them both by their necks and neither could do anything about it. When she reached the other two she threw them as hard as she could and watched as the pair fell heavily to the floor.

Revy was the first one up, with a slow stream of blood trickling down her chin. Kage stood next to her, equally as bloody but not as roughed up, and the two gave each other angry glares as well as to Alphard.

“We are here to scavenge for food and resources. We do not have time for you idiots to bicker and attract those creatures to us!” Alphard pointed to the pathetic thing still stumbling towards them. It was close enough now that they could hear its agonized moans and the scuff of its booted feet.

“Fuck!” Revy roared. “I know, okay? But this asshole keeps shitting on my mood! How the fuck am I supposed to work when she’s on my ass the whole time?”

Kage’s glare on Revy burned even brighter and the tattooed soldier flipped her off.

“Keep your lover quarrels at Snowpeak! While here you are under _my_ command, following König’s orders! I swear to god if you both don’t shake hands right now I will kill you myself.”

The zombie stumbled even further and Alphard’s control snapped. She pulled her gun out and squeezed the trigger once. A bullet landed exactly between the zombie’s eyes and it dropped dead to the ground. When Alphard turned back to the other two soldiers her eyes were so cold that their angered yells died on their lips.

Revy fucking hated to admit it, but Alphard was right. She was being goddamn stupid, but she never wanted to go on this god forsaken mission anyway. König had left her in a position where she was unable to say no.

“Fine!” Revy spat reluctantly. She turned to Kagefusa and thrust her hand out. “Kage, I’m sorry for my shit. Can we act civilly until this fuckfest is over?”

Kage smirked sadistically while she took Revy’s hand and gave it an equally powerful squeeze. “You relent so easily,” she said. “If I wasn’t so disgusted with you,” she pulled Revy against her suddenly and licked her own lips, “then I might have just considered fucking you.”

Revy blushed bright and scarlet and violently removed herself from Kage’s personal space. She pointed an accusing finger and gritted her teeth so hard that it hurt. “See? See what I’m fucking talking about?”

Alphard sent Kage a threatening glare and the woman lifted her arms in surrender. “Hey, I was being honest.”

Alphard put her gun back into its holster and hurried back into the building to retrieve the bags they had packed. When she returned everyone was in the same place they had been when she had left, but the atmosphere had luckily calmed.

“We could only find canned food and bathroom supplies,” Alphard announced while throwing the bags into the truck. “So we need to head over to the mall on the west. König said that we need medicine, and we won’t leave until we get some.”

The others quietly sighed and grumbled but obeyed and climbed into the truck. Rui decided to join the others inside of the truck, though, and she sat between Kage and Nanaba.

Alphard started the car and drove out of the alley. Everyone settled in for the ride and no one spoke. As they drove through the deserted roads, avoiding bodies and abandoned cars, something in the distance appeared and Alphard strained her eyes to see what it was. Everyone else leaned forward and did the same, and when they realized what was now blocking their path to the mall, Alphard hit the brakes and ordered everyone to arm themselves.

In front of them, creating a block with working cars and a military tank, was another group of survivors. Standing atop the tank with a weapon in his hands, a man with long black hair tied at the base of his neck tapped his foot and grinned.

“Welcome!” he announced loudly. “Please, kindly get out of your vehicle.”

Alphard’s eyes narrowed. The look on the man’s face was clearly condescending and crazed. Getting out of the car would most definitely end in all of their deaths. She felt a responsibility to keep these women safe, especially since she was their leader.

But who the hell were these people, and where did they come from? Why did they appear now, blocking the road so obviously?

Alphard wasn’t going to wait and find out. She suddenly hit the gas and allowed the car to spin around. The tires screeched and created smoke against the tar road, and when the car bolted in the direction they had come, the man yelled in fury and ordered his own soldiers to open fire.

None of Nanaba’s squad could figure out why they were suddenly under fire, but they were and there was no other choice but to react.

The back window of the truck shattered and showered them with glass. Everyone, including Alphard, ducked to avoid the spray of bullets. But just as they were swerving around a corner, Nanaba made the worst mistake of her life. She glanced up to see the situation behind them, and then she felt a searing pain burn across her chest as three bullets sunk into her body.

Her eyes widened, blood sprayed from her mouth and then she slumped down into Rui’s lap. The bluenette noticed the blood and started shouting at Alphard, but they were already around the corner and speeding down the street. Alphard ordered the others to tend to Nanaba quickly, and they did.

Rui pulled Nanaba onto her back and applied pressure to the wounds while Kage practically climbed out of the window to retrieve their medical kit from the back. When she found it she quickly turned around to get back into the car, but then she saw what lay ahead and she screamed at Alphard to stop the car, but it was already too late.

An impossibly big horde walked ahead of them and the truck hit them head on. Kage just managed to pull herself into the car before she was thrown out by the force of the bodies passing by. As big as the truck was, though, it couldn’t handle the weight of so many bodies hitting against the front and under the wheels. Around the centre of the horde the car gave up and swerved in a complete circle, flew off to the right and then tipped over onto its side and skidded right off of the road and down a steep decline in the landscape. The truck tipped over three more times before it came to a painful stop on its back, and then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	32. Chapter 32

Nanaba opened her eyes, feeling the blood trickle down her mouth and drip off of her chin. Her vision was blurry, and her muscles ached like hell, but she did her best to lift her head to survey her surroundings. She remembered getting shot, but felt numb to the pain in her chest.

The blonde looked to the left and felt her skin go cold: Rui had been impaled by a metal rod that had come loose from the car. The rod going straight through her abdomen, the blue-haired woman stared blankly up at the sky from where her head had gone through the window. Blood pooled under her.

Frightened, Nanaba looked to the right and saw Kage with her limbs in awkward position, her neck obviously snapped. She had taken the most damage from the car’s physical collisions, and paid the price.

“Shit…!”

Nanaba tried to keep the sob from clawing up her throat, and took a glance toward the front. She flinched and cursed. Revy, motionless and decorated by thousands of glass shards, looked no longer recognizable with all the blood dyeing her skin a deeper red than her hair. She looked the part of a red tide, now slowly going away with the pull of death.

And finally…

Alphard; She was missing. Nanaba wondered briefly where she could have gone before she felt a splitting pain spread through her chest. Her body decided to warn her of the alarming loss of blood, and she finally took the time to think of what she’d left behind; Nova. Petra. Krista, Ymir, Mikasa, Annie, Hanji and all the friends she’d made over the duration of her stay; All the people who touched her or had an impact on her from the smallest effects on her conscious and actions to life-changing influences.

Her heart ached as she focused her thoughts on Nova – her little baby, her baby girl. She’d no longer get to hold her bundle of joy and see that beautiful, toothless smile. She never even got to see her first steps, her first tooth, her first crush, her first everything. Nova would grow up never truly knowing her father, her protector, and that killed Nanaba the most.

“Nova…”

Nanaba’s eyes watered and she let out a sob this time, but it came out gurgled and bloody due to the bullet piercing her pleural cavity and leaking air and liquid into her lungs. Breathing became more difficult, and soon the blood from her limbs relocated to her heart to conserve whatever life she had left. Her hands and feet became cold, and her vision was losing its focus more than it had before.

Just after she had proposed to Petra…! She would never have the honour and joy of calling her ‘wife’ in front of everyone, but her legacy would live on. Nova would grow up and continue her legacy, inherit her pride and her diligence, and continue the line that Nanaba had built. And Petra would be there to guide her, just as she’d promised.

Nanaba bit her lip. She had left Petra, and had died out in the middle of nowhere. Wasn’t there a horde somewhere near them? Wouldn’t it devour them, transform them? Would Nanaba turn into the very freaks she had sworn to never become? Would Petra be forced to see her again in that state? The blonde hoped not, she hoped to whatever deity that existed that if she died then she would die a natural death, and stay that way. It would be a major insult to her humanity, and incredibly cruel, if she were to be reborn as a flesh-eater and forced to face Petra.

Love of her life… Petra. Gone. Vanished. Impossible.

After refuelling her passion, trust and belief in love, it had been ripped away from her, like the warmth gained from keeping hands inside gloves being stolen by a cold winter wind.

The blonde felt her strength waver and focused her ears on the sounds from afar. Feet stomping, machines rolling, shouts announcing… announcing what? She couldn’t make out a word. Instead, she succumbed to her brain’s demand for rest, seeing in her peripheral vision a hand reach out to her before she saw terrifying black once more.

x

Shit happens.

That was something Ymir had constantly told herself as a kid, as a teen, after the apocalypse happened. Shit just happened and it was up to the person being shat on to deal with it. Run away, or confront the problems head on? Withdraw, or fight? Ymir told herself she was a fighter, a person who was not afraid to tackle anything and always managed to come through, but she was just lying to herself. It was all well to pretend that she was strong, but emotionally, she was a coward, running away with her tail between her legs and closing herself out.

Ymir may not have known her as well as the others, but it still hurt. It felt like yesterday when she had been introduced to the father-daughter pair, instantly warming up to the younger but silently challenging the older. It felt like yesterday when they had teased each other and swapped sex stories behind their lovers’ backs, quietly comparing their partners’ willingness. It felt like yesterday when Ymir had been looking for Nanaba, wanting to talk to her about keeping Krista happy and advice about deeper relationship matters. The brunette blinked rapidly and sighed irritably, looking up at the sky and clenching her fists tightly. Beside her, Krista sobbed unabashedly and clutched Ymir’s black dress shirt in her slender fingers. She rubbed her nose against the fabric of the shirt and allowed her tears to run between her soft, red cheeks and Ymir’s rough, black shirt.

A song that Ymir had heard long ago played through her mind, the chorus burning straight through her memories and washing across her conscious.

_I've seen fire and I've seen rain._   
_I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end._   
_I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,_   
_But I always thought that I'd see you again._   


Why? Why did this have to happen when they had been doing so well? Why did they lose someone else dear to them? How many more would they lose before whatever fucked up god controlling their fates became satisfied? Only a sick, twisted bastard would allow the death of a father and lover who was urgently needed by many people.

Ymir always thought she’d see her again.

Mikasa and Annie leaned against each other and spoke in low tones, going over the report they had received from Alphard for the mission. They had been meaning to retrieve the bodies, since they were still at the crash site, but König refused to send a team out. The group had to settle for a faux burial, meaning empty, light and cheap coffins being lowered into a hole in the earth. However, the couple hadn’t given up, especially after seeing Petra’s reaction to the ordeal.

Petra stared blankly at a stone heading jutting out of the ground, right between two others. In her arms she held Nova, who was fast asleep and dreaming. However, it seemed she was disturbed, for she tossed and turned in her mother’s arms and complained with quiet whines. Petra tried her best to soothe her, but her heart just wasn’t into it. She felt numb, blank, lost. First, she had lost Levi, someone precious to her heart, and now she had lost Nanaba, all to the same cause: the undead.

Petra always thought she’d see Nanaba again. She thought their survival was a given, but it was apparent that it wasn’t. Nothing was a given in this horrid reality.

She couldn’t feel anything besides rage and depression, and so she settled for staring at the tombstone and remembering happier times. Times when Nanaba would play with her and Nova, or when she’d hold her tenderly in the morning and kiss the skin under her ear, hands roaming all over her body. The woman sniffed and allowed tears to streak down her face. She felt a weight on her shoulder and jumped, turning her head to see Homura taking a drag from his cigarette.

Beside her, Homura exhaled a perfect ring of smoke in the air and smiled at her. His coat enveloped her and kept her safe from the biting breeze nipping at her cheeks. It smelt like cigarettes and pine, which made her scrunch her nose in disgust. Nanaba always smelled good, like oranges and bananas, tropical fruit.

Homura said nothing but continued to stare, and soon Petra wondered if the man was alright. Eventually, she shrugged and returned her gaze to the stone, reading its heading over and over again in order to commit it to memory.

Nanaba --

Lover, father, friend, fighter, protector, leader

You will be dearly missed

\--

_I love you._

The last note had been engraved by Petra, using a tiny tool to carve it with Ymir’s help. It was small, but it was her little secret, her little thing she would look for every time she came by to see her grave. _I love you_. That was an understatement. Petra didn’t just _love_ Nanaba, she _adored_ her, she _admired, respected,_ nearly _worshipped_ her. She was so deeply in love she refused to believe that Nanaba was dead. Somehow, she would survive and come back, and when she did come back, she would kick the tombstone and hold her in her arms again. Petra missed her more than anything.

It had been a week since Nanaba had left on her mission, and Alphard had come in the day before today, announcing the annihilation of her troops and confirming the presence of horde armies being used by bio technologically-savvy rebels. She debriefed all relevant material, keeping the gory details for herself, and personally announced the deaths to all of the victims’ close friends and loved ones. She herself had been injured heavily, but managed to hold on before she succumbed to cerebral haemorrhaging due to a blood vessel popping somewhere in her skull. The doctors had announced the causes to be extreme stress, fatigue and malnutrition.

With the last survivor of the group dead, König felt it crucial to ban all activity near the area of death and to focus on strengthening their defences in order to prevent any more deaths closer to home.

Hanji remained in her lab during the funeral, preferring to work on perfecting her tools than dealing with emotions. She cut herself off and focused on the formation of the chamber of her newest gun. That night, when Ymir had demanded to have everything explained, Hanji had spilled everything while telling Ymir to wait until Nanaba returned before discussing it further.

_“Hanji, you should be there too. My and Krista’s room, seven o’clock,” Ymir said, elbowing the other brunette._

_The other brunette, Hanji, replied with a mocking tone, “Nanaba isn’t here, and you know how good she is when it comes to decision-making. I think you should wait until she returns.”_

_“Fair enough, but I’m an impatient asshole so I’ll probably just tell them anyway.”_

_“Ymir!”_

_“Relax, geez! I’ll just tell Krista, ‘cause she’ll know something’s up the second she looks at me.”_

_Hanji pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation and waved her hand around. “Alright, alright, do whatever. But do not tell anyone else, because this is classified info! I could get skinned for telling you.”_

_“I’m a careful person, Hanji,” Ymir mocked, rolling her eyes._

_“Of course! I never doubted you for a second.”_

Hanji pushed up her safety goggles and regarded her work apathetically. Turning it over in her hands, Hanji plugged it into the nearest outlet and aimed it a dummy across the room. Pulling the trigger, she grinned at the product and unplugged the gun, testing the battery features and grinning once more when it worked just as she had planned.

Walking forward, she let the ashes slip between her fingers and coat them with a smoky black tint. The bespectacled woman turned on her heel and hid the gun in her lab coat, wanting to report to Erwin on her accomplished mission. It had taken a while, what with being detoured to focus on mine-detecting technology, but she did it. She created the ultimate weapon to send those bastards back to their graves. Or rather, completely destroy them to the point where they could no longer be a threat. All she had to do was mass produce the weapon and hand it to key individuals, and they were set for survival.

The only mote of pride she had felt in days, and it was due to a machine she had designed to kill.

x

Erwin sat on his bed looking at a faded clutched photograph in his hands. The faces were smeared with dried blood, and the edges of the photo were torn, but Erwin remembered the image clearly in his mind.

It was a group photo of the staff of the school he’d left behind.

Petra, Hanji, Levi, him, an old fool named Pixis and dozens of other hardworking and compassionate individuals who dedicated their lives to bringing students up. Losing Nanaba reminded him of the loss he’d felt after failing to find Levi, his best friend and closest confidant. Knowing him, the man must have given his life to save others.

Everyone else was dead; he couldn’t imagine Pixis being strong enough to get to Trost, and he couldn’t see Rico willingly cooperating with anyone that angered her. It was a matter of being realistic and erasing all delusions - this way, he wouldn’t suffer from extreme heartbreak like Petra had, three times over the course of the trip: first with Levi, then with Marco, and now with Nanaba. Would this third loss finally break her?

No, she had someone to look after, someone to take care of and bring up in place of Nanaba. Petra had Nova, and where Nanaba had looked for inspiration in her times of desperation, Petra would do the same. Nova would become her motive and her reason for living, but she wouldn’t be alone, like Nanaba had been. Petra had him, Hanji, Ymir, Krista, Mikasa and Annie to help. She wouldn’t be alone, and they would make sure she would never be left behind.

Erwin jumped slightly when a knock sounded at his door, and stood to open it. König smiled and greeted him, walking into the room when the blonde man stepped aside to let him in. The leader sat down gracefully on a wooden chair pushed near a desk and surveyed the room. It was undecorated.

“What, you don’t want to make your home a bit more comfortable?” König laughed.

Erwin said nothing but closed the door, marching stiffly to his bed and sitting on it. “I don’t plan on staying for long.”

König’s eyes widened. “Why not?”

The blonde crossed his arms and drew his chest up to display his power and firmness. “My people are not happy here; your mission caused the death of the father of the baby we are trying to protect. They want to leave and settle elsewhere.”

König laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Erwin, didn’t we discuss this before, didn’t we agree that you would get your little group to contribute? Nanaba contributed greatly, and she died for a cause, unlike Olaf who was cruelly murdered-”

“Do not!” Erwin shouted, standing up and towering over the dark-skinned man. His eyes were wide and his expression was fierce. “Do _not_ bring up other topics to cover _your_ fault. It does not _matter_ that we agreed to contribute - you also agreed to inform me of any and all missions my people went on, yet failed to tell me of this one. This fatal mission that I would’ve forbade Nanaba from going on had I known she was to depart for it.”

König stood as well and held the blue stare for as long as he could before his green eyes shifted to the floor. “I made a mistake,” he admitted softly, closing his eyes, “I heard rumours of my brother’s activity in that area, and I sent capable women to check it out. I acted on an impulse and I realize my fault.” He moved his gaze back up to Erwin’s face and clasped his shoulder with a strong hand tightly. “But don’t leave, friend, because we still need you - we can't fight those rebels alone!”

Erwin shook his head and pushed the hand away. “It's not our fight; we don’t need you - not anymore.”

And with that, Erwin grabbed the suitcase he had packed beside his bed and exited the room, leaving König to pick up the shattered pieces of his heart.

x

Ymir, Krista, Annie, Mikasa, Petra, Nova and Hanji sat near the First with all their belongings. The brunette had managed to secure their old cars for them in order to travel. When questioned about their destination, Hanji shrugged.

“I have no idea where Erwin plans to take us now, since we’re leaving Snowpeak, probably the safest place in this country.”

Ymir rolled her eyes and flicked Hanji’s cheek. “You’re only saying that ‘cause they let you play with your toys. Now you can’t do any of that scientific bullshit on the road.”

Hanji grinned slyly and shook her head. “Oh, Ymir, you are _so_ wrong about that…”

Ymir frowned. “What’s that supposed to-”

Krista poked her side and pulled her away from the cackling scientist. “Ymir, stop, please. Petra… she looks like she’s about to cry.”

“Not again…” the brunette grumbled.

Krista gasped and smacked Ymir’s abdomen. “Ymir!”

Ymir sighed and shrugged. “Sorry, I’m being a jerk, I know. I know how she feels but I can’t take all this crying. It’s making me sad too.”

The blonde kissed Ymir’s neck and cuddled against her chest. The brunette wrapped her arms around her and placed her chin on her forehead. “Me too.”

Petra played with Nova, who was seated on her lap, and made funny noises to which the baby laughed and squealed. The little girl had been oblivious to the absence of her father, thinking she had been gone on one of her missions again and that it was taking longer than usual. A bit older and wiser than she was before, Nova learned to adapt to her daddy’s unpredictable schedules and was compensated with extra attention and cuddles from her loving mother and aunties. Yes, Nova had even begun to call the other teenagers her ‘aunties’.

“Auntie ‘mir, Auntie Kwista, Auntie ‘kasa, Auntie ‘nie, Auntie ‘ji and Uncle ‘win.”

Only Krista had been graced with a full name rather than a part, and the skipped ‘r’ made her giggle. Ymir had made a joke that only midgets could understand each other, henceforth why Nova knew how to say Krista’s name better than the others. This had prompted an extreme head-butt to her kidneys courtesy of the blonde midget she had been teasing.

Petra tried her hardest to keep a straight face, but when her mind began to overlap Nanaba’s face with Nova’s, it was hard not to just break down and cry until her eyes dried of tears. Her expression wavered for the faintest moment, and Mikasa took that opportunity to sweep in and scoop Nova from her.

“Auntie ‘kasa! Auntie ‘nie!” Nova squealed happily. Mikasa handed her over to Annie, who placed her on her shoulders, and then turned to Petra and crouched close to her.

“Petra, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you’re ready to be Nova’s mother yet. You need some time to yourself to grieve before you can be with her. Take care of yourself before taking care of others,” Mikasa advised wisely.

Petra nodded and stood, dusting herself off. “Thank you, I… I don’t know what to do now that she’s gone.” Her eyes watered but she shook her head. “I miss her so much.”

Mikasa hugged the woman and hooded her eyes in nostalgia. “Me too, we all do.”

“Have you ladies got any room for one more?”

The women all turned to see Homura smiling gently with a pack slung over his shoulder. The man seemed a bit nervous, if confidant, but overall he seemed extremely friendly. Petra remembered Nanaba talking to her about him, about how he seemed to be a very loyal and dedicated protector of all vulnerable beings. She also remembered seeing him at Nanaba’s faux burial and funeral. He had been the one to cover her shoulders with his coat.

Ymir stepped forward, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. “We might. Who are you and how did you know we were leaving?”

Homura shrugged, his white, wispy hair moving with his actions. “I was Nanaba’s friend. After hearing how she died and what König did, I decided that I would be better off leaving to protect something much more valuable.” His eyes zeroed in on Petra, then flicked to Nova. “What Nanaba left behind.”

Just as Ymir was about to call ‘bullshit’, Petra advanced and pushed the fuming teen back lightly. “It’s okay, Ymir, I trust him,” Petra whispered, smiling reassuringly.

Ymir threw her hands in the air and stopped over to Krista, venting out her frustrations verbally with Krista sighing and shaking her head in fondness. The blonde looked over to Homura and saw the sincerity in his words, the genuine emotion and heartbreak that he too felt at Nanaba’s death. That woman had touched so many without even realizing it.

“Of course you can come along,” Petra extended a friendly hand, which Homura shook and bowed his head to kiss politely.

“Thank you, I won’t let you down.” He straightened and went to carry Petra’s and Nova’s bags. “I’ll protect all of you.”

“I don’t need any protecting,” Ymir grumbled, picking up her bag and Krista’s. The blonde thanked her with a kiss on her cheek and laughed when Hanji pouted and picked up her heavy science equipment and luggage.

Mikasa picked up her and Annie’s bags while the blonde tended to the child in her arms. She had quickly fed the baby and was slowly lulling her into sleep. Erwin joined them with his own bags, and his expression was stony and unfeeling. It was only when he saw the sleeping child that he softened his eyes.

Homura introduced himself, and Erwin accepted him right away; the blonde was an excellent judge of character.

Around them, survivors crowded around, waving goodbye and sniffing in sadness. The women had made many friends over the course of their stay, but it seemed they would have to say goodbye.

The group walked out of the bunkers, going through the First and down the long hall to climb up the steps. Once outside, they exited the school and Ymir led the group through the desolate town. They walked down the road, keeping a vigilant eye for suspicious activity. They had packed weaponry, the same as they were used to using, but Annie could not fight and Krista stuck close to Ymir with a pistol shaking between her slender fingers.

The brunette explained that the cars were outside of the town, hidden somewhere no one would be able to find and steal them. She had managed to get them there with the help of Mikasa and Annie, and so the couple was also aware of the location.

However, before they could exit the famed gate of Snowpeak, a figure appeared in front of them. A familiar figure enshrouded in robes and stealth clothing. Erwin’s eyes widened and he stepped forward in shock.

Jezebel extended her hand out, a note between her gloved fingers. Annie narrowed her eyes and handed the baby to Mikasa, stalking forward to look the assassin in her eyes.

“What do you want?” she spat.

“To inform you,” Jezebel responded calmly.

“Inform us of what?”

The woman stayed quiet and instead pressed the note to Annie’s chest. “Read this.” She quickly turned on her heel and calmly strode to a motorcycle parked on the side. She climbed on to it and the engine whirred to life. With a salute directed at Erwin, she sped off down the road, leaving as quickly as she had come.

The group crowded around Annie, wanting to see what was written on the note. When the blonde unrolled it, glaring at Ymir who had gotten too close, they all collectively gasped.

“It can’t be…”

“Impossible!”

“How could that even…?”

Jezebel’s appearance was soon forgotten and their interest lied in the shocking contents of the note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	33. Chapter 33

_“Your supposed leader knew he was sending them to their deaths. In fact, he sent them there after I provoked him. He knew what I planned to do, yet he sent them anyway. He’s a precious leader, isn’t he? A man who would ignorantly send his own people to their deaths. Do sleep well tonight, lost lover and her bastard child. – Eric”_

**And so, a year had passed…**

XxX

Ymir woke pleasantly to the familiar feeling of Krista draped over her body. The blonde’s hair tickled her nose, but she felt no desire to blow them away or shift her face. It was pleasant, and her hair smelt nice. It was just nice to be reminded of her lover, since each day they all knew how fleeting their lives were. At least their chances of survival had risen considerably since their last tragedy…

The brunette cracked an eye open and scowled at the light splashing in through their bedroom window. She would have lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the light, but she discovered that it was currently cupping Krista’s shapely backside. Her other hand was captured by Krista’s and held against the blonde’s chest. As it was, Ymir felt too content with her hand’s cargo to remove it, so she merely sighed and shut her eyes again.

That was when Krista decided that she was ready to wake, and she shifted to lift her head and look up at Ymir with bleary, blue eyes. Her hair, now short, swished about her face and half fell over her eyes.

Ymir released Krista’s ass with a chuckle to sweep the fringe out of her eyes, and then she smiled and leaned down to kiss her tenderly on the lips. Krista’s nose scrunched up with her smile and she kissed back with all the love in her heart.

“How did you sleep?” Ymir asked quietly once they parted.

Krista pressed her face to Ymir’s chest and breathed a long happy sigh. “I slept fine. I dreamt that we lived in a different time, and you and I were both soldiers in a battle against aliens.” Despite how strange the things she was saying were, Krista sounded mystified and content. “You looked sexy in a space suit.”

Ymir’s brows connected in bewilderment and she sat up with her lover in her arms. “You are still weird as shit,” she said levelly. “But it’s better than the nightmares, I guess.”

Krista grew sober very quickly and with that she pushed away from Ymir to get up. While Ymir watched her with a worried frown Krista walked to their cupboard to fetch a clean outfit for herself. For a long while Krista had been plagued with nightmares of losing Ymir, but over the last few months the dreams had finally stopped.

Once she had chosen suitable clothes, she turned to Ymir with a smile and beckoned her near.

“We should shower before going to breakfast,” she said. The sadness from a few seconds ago had left her eyes and Ymir’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

“Oh, right. That’s a good idea.” Ymir pushed the blanket to the side and then climbed out of bed. While she ascended to standing Krista appreciated the show of her long, lean and muscled body.

Over the year Ymir had grown slightly taller and she had gained a lot more muscle. She was no longer just toned and lanky, she now had some real meat on her. The most noticeable difference was the hard, deep lines showing her defined abdomen muscles. She even had an attractive ‘V’ dipping down from her hips, which showed just how little fat remained on her body. All of it had been converted to muscle, because all of Ymir’s skills had been devoted to being a soldier. Part of that meant intense training.

And she had trained so very hard over these many months. It wasn’t all that long in retrospect, but for them, in the world’s current state, a year had been an eternity.

Ymir noticed Krista’s suddenly heated gaze and she purposefully tensed her muscles and flexed her biceps. Krista swooned and Ymir laughed.

“Jesus, you’re still as insatiable as always,” Ymir commented loudly.

Like with her body, other features of hers had changed too. At some point Ymir’s hair had grown long enough that she required to tie it up, but she had finally decided early on into the year that she was damn sick of her hair, so she cut it all off. It was now really short and barely touched her ears. It suited her well, though, and Krista thought it was definitely very attractive.

“It’s only because I have an incredibly hot wife,” Krista said heatedly.

Ymir grinned and bounded over to her lover. “I still love it when you call me that,” she whispered against Krista’s ear.

The blonde shivered at the pleasant feel and she clutched the clothes closer against her chest. “Well that’s what you are.”

A month after they had left Snowpeak Ymir had finally asked Krista to marry her and they had held a small commitment ceremony once their group had settled. Everyone had been glad for them, even Petra though she had tried her best to hide the obvious sorrow from her smile.

While they showered together Ymir took great pleasure in teasing Krista and touching her inappropriately. It wasn’t just Ymir that had grown.

Krista was now a lot taller, and her breasts had grown larger too. Ymir’s hadn’t bothered at all, and she was in fact relieved. She did take great pleasure in Krista’s new bust, though. Krista now reached her chin, which was one hell of an improvement from standing to just her shoulders.

The blonde had hardened a lot too. Her hands no longer shook when she held a gun, and she could shoot with deadly precision.

They had both come a long way from being those scared, scrawny highschool teenagers that had started out in this mess. It wouldn’t be easy for them to fail now.

“Babe, I forgot to tell you last night,” Ymir said as she was pulling her military uniform on. “Mikasa found one of their groups last night and annihilated them. Erwin wasn’t happy that she acted alone, but she at least killed some of those bastards.”

Krista listened quietly and she donned her smaller version of Ymir’s uniform. Ymir was already applying her various weapons onto her body. “Last month Annie did the same. Why don’t those two go out together? I guess it’s at least good that we can get some of them.”

Ymir nodded. “If we don’t more people will suffer.” Ymir craned her neck back to peek at Krista and she was disappointed to see the blonde tying her hair up. It had been really short a while back but now it had grown to her chin. It was long enough to tie up, which Krista preferred to do. “Oh whoa, hey.” Ymir stepped up to Krista and grabbed a hold of her wrist.

“What?”

“Sweet Jesus!” Ymir exclaimed with a rakish grin. “When did you gain more muscle than me?”

Krista quickly pulled her wrist free and rolled her eyes. “Ymir I’ve been training too. Naturally my body will change.”

Ymir pouted. “But now my helpless Krista is all fierce. How will I protect you now?”

Krista giggled and pulled Ymir down to kiss her hard on the lips. “Are you done with your morning routine?”

Ymir grinned sheepishly. “Sure.”

“Good. We should report in and then head to the breakfast tent.”

Ymir pursed her lips and nodded. She took Krista’s hand in her own, ran a hand through her still wet hair and then left their apartment. They remained quiet as they walked down the empty street, and when they reached a familiar building and saw a familiar brunette yelling like a lunatic, they both shared a look and a smile.

“Hanji, did anything happen?” Krista asked the moment they stepped up to the woman.

“What?! Yes!” She grabbed them both and then pulled them into the building.

Their group had secured an area at the coast of Japan. Through sheer determination they had completely barricaded a perimeter with strongly constructed walls, and then they had cleaned the area out. They now used all of the buildings, which mainly consisted of stores, apartments and a bank. Their base of operations was the bank and they kept all of their spare weapons inside of one of the big safes.

It wasn’t a secret that their area was safe, and many passing survivors had begged for entrance. None had been granted.

Time after time they discovered that no one was to be trusted. Erwin especially refused to let strangers into his home. He mostly considered Petra and Nova, constantly remembering their loss because he had entrusted them all to someone he shouldn’t have. Even if they were good people, they couldn’t be trusted. Sometimes it was painful to turn people away, but remembering the loss in their group lessened the guilt.

They were happy now, and safe. They had successfully built a safe haven for them. Luckily walkers showing up had become rare over the last few months. Hanji’s discovery and technology allowed them to set up electrical barriers all around their territory. If a walker were to stumble too close it would go up into a cloud of ashes. They had not faced the threat of the infected for an entire year. What they truly faced now was the threat of other survivors. People were smarter than zombies, and people were evil.

The ocean was to their right, the waves crashing and receding along the beach sand. To their left was the bank, where Hanji had just pulled them into. She started rattling off about a new weapon she had just completed and Ymir immediately grew bored. She managed to shake Hanji off and pulled Krista with her to Erwin. Once there they met Annie and Mikasa who were talking quietly with their leader.

“Good morning everyone!” Krista announced cheerfully. The others looked up and greeted her back with smiles. “Anything new?”

“They’ve started to move again,” Erwin answered. He had a map spread out on a table which he and the other two were seriously considering. “They’ve moved from the mountainous areas closer to here. I don’t like the looks of this.”

Ymir clicked her tongue. “Goddamn fuckers. How many of them must we kill until they leave us alone?”

“They want what we have,” Mikasa said. “I overheard them speaking before I killed them. They still lose men to the infection. They want to know our secrets and they want to take our territory.”

Krista folded her arms across her chest and stepped up beside Erwin. “Is there no way we can repel them?” she asked.

“We’ve tried negotiations, warnings and massacres. Nothing is working. They can’t use their zombie armies on us, they’ve tried.”

Exactly eight months prior the rebel group that was after their territory had attempted to overrun the area with zombies. An entire horde had been set loose but they had all merely disintegrated. Any living soldier caught near their walls had been shot on sight. They then learnt not to approach the area. Hanji had also set a few traps outside of the walls, and a lot of the rebel troops had been destroyed by them. They had stopped trying six months ago, but Erwin knew they weren’t done.

“Maybe we should send a serious warning to their leader, or organise a meeting to speak.” Krista suggested.

Annie kicked the ground underneath her feet and scoffed. “And what, let them waltz right in?”

Krista flicked her eyes up to regard Annie with a frown. The other blonde grew uncomfortable under the gaze. “No,” Krista said. “We kill their leader the moment he steps into our range.” She leaned over and pointed at the map. “They are circling us, that much is obvious. Different groups have been positioned in an arc around us. It isn’t a perfect formation, probably so that we don’t notice the pattern, but it’s there.”

Erwin’s eyes widened. “I didn’t notice that.”

“I have no doubt that if he agreed he would hide his soldiers and they would invade. They can’t just invade, though, because our generators are hidden and heavily protected, and our walls make it impossible to infiltrate.”

Ymir was leaning against a nearby wall, her hands shoved into her pockets and a foot pressed flat against the surface. She grinned smugly as her beautiful partner spoke like a true soldier.

Annie and Mikasa blinked at Krista’s genius. They were still mostly surprised at how confident and strong Krista had grown, and sometimes they missed their timid, compassionate friend. At least they no longer stressed for her, because Krista could definitely watch out for herself. She also had Ymir, who was like a fierce watch dog, especially after they had exchanged rings. Ymir had grown a lot more possessive.

“Maybe if we quietly take out their stationed troops we can weaken their forces and maybe they will back off.”

“Fat chance!” Ymir announced. Everyone turned to look at her. “Look, these shitheads have nothing else to do with their lives. They’ve been after our asses for months now. They won’t simply give up, especially since we have it perfect here.”

“So what do you propose we do then, Ymir?” Erwin asked.

“I say we kill them all. Kill the leader and every one of his men. We leave any of them alive and we’ll have them seeking revenge or some shit.”

Erwin sighed deeply and turned back to the map. “Krista, when breakfast is over could you consult with me?”

Krista smiled proudly and nodded. “Of course!”

“Great, let’s head out to eat then. Petra is making pancakes today.”

Everyone began to salivate at the word and they hurriedly left headquarters for the beach. The beach had also been closed off, quite a distance into the water. Hanji had special traps in place in case anyone tried to use the water to their advantage. There really was no getting into their base.

The breakfast tent was situated on the beach, atop the warm sand. The sun was out and beaming high in the sky. There was a slight breeze, but it was strangely cold so none of them were really cold or hot.

“Homu!” a shrill voice called out in irritation, and then there was a loud giggle.

When the group approached the tent they saw Homura sprinting around in circles, Nova hot on his heels. The man pretended to be terrified, yelling and mock falling. Nova found it hilarious and would pounce on him each time he fell. Homura would then call out for help, reaching out to anyone looking.

Everyone chuckled at the sight and headed into the tent. There Petra was busy setting the table, and when she noticed everyone her face brightened and she smiled.

“Morning! Did everyone sleep well?”

“Petra!” Krista flung herself at the orange-blonde and pulled her into a tight hug. She forced Ymir into the hug too, which Ymir awkwardly allowed. After the hug Petra tapped Krista on the forehead and laughed.

“You are too cheerful, Krista.”

Krista found Ymir’s hand and intertwined their fingers while she grinned. “Heh, sorry.”

Suddenly laughing and squealing entered the tent and everyone looked down to see Homura, on his hands and knees, crawling towards Petra with Nova seated on his back and thoroughly enjoyed herself by pulling his hair as if it were reigns. When he stopped in front of Petra the man pulled Nova off of his back and then he got onto his feet and grinned.

“Morning everybody,” he said sheepishly. It was a little embarrassing to be seen crawling around like a horse, but he didn’t mind it for Nova.

“Mama!” Nova exclaimed happily and reached out for Petra. The woman smiled lovingly and accepted her daughter from Homura. “Uncle Homu is horsie!”

Petra nuzzled Nova and kissed her lovingly on the forehead. “Oh? Well he’s a pretty horsie, isn’t he?”

Nova giggled. “Horsie!”

“Thanks for playing with her while I made breakfast,” Petra said to Homura.

The man waved his hands and smiled. “It was the least I could do, really.”

Everyone shared amused smiles and then they seated themselves. Erwin had the head seat, while to his right Annie and Mikasa sat next to each other, with Homura beside them at the end of the table. To his left Hanji, Ymir, Krista and then Petra sat in that order. Nova had the best seat of the house, which was Petra’s lap, and the orange-blonde had the privilege of watching as Nova messily fed herself and she tried consulting with her on how not to eat with her forehead. Of course Nova didn’t understand the point of the argument, and when Homura started to sneak funny faces her way she completely stopped listening to her mommy’s suggestions.

Petra glared at the white-haired man, and he stopped his activity. When Nova cried out for him to continue Petra relented with a nod.

If it wasn’t for Homura, Nova might have never been able to smile again.

XxX

Mikasa walked steadily along the path beside their wall. She had a special uniform on, one that repelled the effect of the electric barrier. It wasn’t just on the wall, and the barrier was actually invisibly emitted a distance from the wall. No one had ever made it close enough to touch the wall before the electricity singed their skin or turned them to ash. Many people had tried. The group had placed hidden markers to point out where the E field touched, and when survivors approached one of Hanji’s devices would alert them and they would warn the people to back off. They would point to the markers and explain for the people not to move past the line.

Some didn’t listen, and they always paid the price.

Hanji had developed a special kind of fabric that diffused the effect of the E field, kind of like a conductor. They always wore the clothes underneath their uniform, since it was made to be light, innocent-looking and comfortable.

The oriental woman had her katana strapped to her back and a gun gripped in her hands. There was a path beside the wall, created by the many times they had walked the area. Every hour they walked the path and checked the walls. They made sure nothing suspicious was happening on the other side, too. Annie was currently on the outside, walking the outside path. She was safe from walkers, since she was inside the E field, but she was still vulnerable to bullets if enough of them were shot. Most would probably burn up because of the E field, but some got through.

It was late afternoon, roughly five o’clock. Breakfast had passed as it usually did. Nova enjoyed herself with her mother, Petra, and with her self-announced older brother, Homura. He was the kid’s new best friend, and since the loss of Nanaba he had filled the void in the little girl’s conscience. In the beginning she had constantly asked about her daddy, and whenever she did Petra would either burst into tears or hold them back and smile sadly. As small as she was, Nova understood not to ask. But she still cried sometimes. Petra would hear her sobbing and crying out for her daddy while the little girl slept. It absolutely broke her heart.

“Annie, is everything still alright?” Mikasa called out. She and Annie were side by side, with the wall between them. Mikasa was always nervous when her lover was tasked with the outside check.

“Everything seems normal,” Annie responded. They reached the beach and then turned and headed back to the gate. Once there Mikasa opened the large, heavy gate by pulling it with all her might, and then she let Annie in and quickly shut it. “No footsteps, no signs of activity close by. It’s quiet and I didn’t notice any traps.”

Mikasa nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s report back to Erwin.”

Annie nodded too and then the pair started to walk towards the bank, but then Annie suddenly pulled Mikasa to a stop by tugging at her hand. The black-haired girl paused and looked down at her girlfriend.

“Annie?”

“Mikasa, look.” She nodded towards the beach and smiled when Mikasa’s face filled with peace.

The sun was starting to set, making the water darken and shine brightly with orange. Similarly, the sky was bathed in orange and pink. It was absolutely beautiful, with the clouds also dotting the sky in long, soft patches.

Suddenly Annie let Mikasa go and then she bounded down the steps towards the beach. Mikasa watched her go in surprise for a moment, but then she hurried to catch up. When Annie finally stopped she dropped her gun and then sat down beside it. Her shoes were thrown off hurriedly and she buried her toes into the still warm sand.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly with a long inhale.

Mikasa smiled fondly, the skin crinkling by the corner for her eyes, and she gracefully sat down beside the blonde. She took her shoes off too, and dug them in beside Annie’s, and then she found her girlfriend’s hand and intertwined their fingers atop the sand.

“It is,” Mikasa agreed.

Annie didn’t say anything more and she just stared out over the calm water. She thought over everything that had happened so far and wondered about what was still to come. Sitting there and looking at the gorgeous horizon made her feel like just maybe everything would work out. This feeling made her act a little less stoically by leaning into Mikasa and allowing the taller girl to envelope her in her arms.

Mikasa rested her chin against the top of Annie’s head, and she smiled. “We should report to Erwin, Annie.”

“I know.”

“Right now.”

“We should.”

“But I guess five more minutes wouldn’t hurt…”

Annie smiled and leaned up to capture Mikasa’s lips. “Afterwards we’ll come back, and maybe we’ll take longer than five minutes.”

Mikasa’s eyes widened slightly at the haughty note to Annie’s tone, and then she felt a familiar heat wash over her and she swallowed. “You wait here and I’ll go and tell him!” She extracted herself hurriedly and then ran off to the bank, to tell Erwin that everything was still safe.

Annie watched her go with lidded eyes, and then she turned back to the dropping sun with a smug grin.

XxX

The next day came as peacefully as the rest. Erwin was up the earliest even though he had been up all night talking strategy with the others. They marked various areas on the map and proposed different solutions to their problem of the rebels. Homura had been there to listen, as had Petra, and Nova had been asleep in Homura’s arms.

He was now walking atop their wall, checking to make sure everything was alright. It wasn’t really his shift yet, which he was set to start in about twenty-four minutes. He had woken early, though, by a sudden ominous feeling. This had led him to immediately go to the wall to check the perimeter. He had already checked it and nothing was out of the ordinary, but he still continued to keep a close eye on the road.

Homura was always like this. His intuition was as sharp as Erwin’s when it came to detecting oncoming danger. When he felt something he always acted on it, and something usually did happen. The man had meant it when he said he would protect all of them.

Homura pulled something from his pocket and glanced down at it. It was a photograph, taken with an instant camera.

“Nanaba…” he whispered sadly and ran a thumb over the image. It was creased, with a missing edge. Despite how hard he had tried to keep it from damaging, the picture had suffered anyway. It was a simple photo of when he had still been at Snowpeak. It had been early morning, one when he had been tasked with keeping watch outside. It had been really cold that day, and Nanaba had been guarding with him. König had seemed to pair them often, though Homura had never minded.

_“Jesus it’s cold,” Nanaba complained through shivering lips. She turned to regard Homura and shook her head in disbelief. “How do you do that?”_

_Homura rubbed the side of his face with a cold hand and looked at Nanaba. “Do what?”_

_The blonde waved her hand up and down, indicating his clothes. “How do you wear so little and not feel the cold?”_

_Homura understood and then he chuckled. “Feel here.” He stepped up to his partner and lifted his shirt. He didn’t react to the cold air against his bare skin, but he did shiver when he forced Nanaba’s palm flat against his abdomen._

_Nanaba was about to pull back in disgust and punch him, but then she felt how warm Homura’s skin was and she couldn’t help but place her other hand against his skin too._

_“This is so weird but it’s warm.” A strong shiver wracked through Nanaba’s body and she glowered at her weakness to the cold._

_Homura laughed at their situation, his shirt still clutched in his hands and pulled up. “Are you going to keep them there? I can still feel cold, you know.”_

_Nanaba withdrew and chuckled. “Sorry.” She straightened her gun and released a long, foggy breath. It had definitely started to get colder, enough that they felt it down in the bunkers. She wondered if Petra and Nova were warm enough._

_“Don’t worry,” Homura suddenly said. “I’m sure that they’re fine.”_

_Nanaba looked to him in surprise. “How did you…?”_

_“Well,” Homura pulled his usual pack of cigarettes out and lit one of them between his lips. “When you worry about your family, you get this little crease between your eyebrows and your eyes look downwards, all unfocused. You were doing that now.”_

_Nanaba wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or freaked out. Did this man watch her enough to read her face so easily?_

_“You’re right, I guess,” she said._

_Homura hummed under his breath and puffed on his smoke. Nanaba went back to watching the road and both of them didn’t speak after that._

_Suddenly Homura threw an arm around Nanaba’s shoulders, though, and he raised a camera that came out of nowhere and captured a picture before Nanaba had any time to react. When she made a move to shove him off he had already taken a few steps back, laughing. He removed the photo that had been ejected and waited while the image faded in._

_“Homura!”_

_“What?” He shrugged. “Memories, right? I found this a while back and I never got around to trying it out. Oh, look!” He grinned and showed the picture to Nanaba. The blonde woman took one look at it and her face darkened. She tried to snatch it, but Homura quickly shoved it into his pocket. “Nu-uh, this is mine.”_

_“Homura!”_

It wasn’t a beautiful picture. In fact, both of them had looked cold and pathetic. Homura had been grinning while Nanaba held a surprised look. Her hair was all tousled due to the wind, as was Homura’s, and both of them had pink noses.

But Nanaba had been herself, she had been alive.

Homura sighed softly and returned the precious picture back to his pocket. He remembered Petra making a comment a few nights back, about not being able to really remember Nanaba’s face.

_“It’s hard, you know. When I think about her I try to see her face, but it appears so blurry and the more I try the worse the image gets.”_

_“Can you really not remember her face?”_

_“I see her in Nova, though. But not really her face. I wish I could remember it clearly, but my mind won’t let me.”_

_“That’s so sad I could cry.”_

_“I do, all the time. I miss her Homura, I miss her so much.”_

_“I know Petra, I miss her too. We all do.”_

He had wanted to show her the picture, but he had hesitated. Would she be able to handle it? Petra was better now, sure, but she was still a mess inside. She couldn’t get over the loss of her lover in a mere year. The progress that she had made until now had only been made through sheer determination, and because of Nova. Petra got a hold of herself quickly in order to mother her child. But she was still so lost and so hurt.

Homura hated seeing that pained look on her face. It never went away. The only times her eyes did not appear haunted were the times she gazed at Nova. But even then, they filled with intense sadness.

The man sighed deeply and continued to walk atop the wall and keep watch. Eventually he decided that he was worried for nothing, and made a move to jump down from the wall, but then he spotted something in the distance and he froze.

“What…?”

Homura’s eyes widened to saucers when he noticed long blonde hair. He didn’t move a muscle and continued to watch as a person stumbled closer towards the walls. Eventually he had to snap out of it and shout out for the person to stop.

“Stop!” he exclaimed. “There is an electrical field! Don’t cross the line or you’ll die!”

The person listened to him and paused, and Homura quickly pulled a device out of his pocket to contact Erwin.

“Erwin, get to the wall immediately. We have a survivor.”

On his side, Erwin furrowed his brows but hurried to Homura. Why would the man contact him and ask him to go there? He should just do what they normally did when survivors showed up. A part of Erwin started to worry, and when he was close enough to see Homura’s face and saw the pained look on it, he had to swallow the lump from his throat.

Despite this he remained calm and collected and quickly joined Homura’s side.

“Erwin, look.” Homura pointed at the blonde, his eyes pained and sad.

Erwin looked and his eyes widened slightly. They then closed and he sighed. “We cannot, you know the rules.”

Homura turned sharply. “But she’s a child!”

Erwin’s shoulders dropped. “An easy ploy. What if the rebels are hiding within the forest, waiting for our gate to open in order to sneak in?”

“You know they can’t get past the E field! Goddamnit Erwin, we can’t let a child stay out there alone!”

Erwin turned away from the blonde watching them from the street. His heart felt heavy but his logic argued with him. “Homura, we can’t-” But Homura wasn’t listening.

The man was running entirely on his emotions, so he surprised and panicked Erwin by jumping down from the wall, but into the outside.

“Homura damnit! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Saving a child!” Homura yelled back. The E field stretched 8 meters from the wall, so it only took a few long strides until Homura exited it and approached the child.

It was a little girl. She wore a simple yellow dress, but it was ragged, dirty and torn. Her skin was matted with bruises, blood, cuts and dirt. Similarly her hair was a mess of gold. Her green eyes were wary, but they were filled with relief and hope.

Homura had run to her and when he reached the girl he dropped down onto his knees. “Hey sweetie, I’m going to take you with me, okay? But I’m going to need you to climb underneath my shirt. Can you do that? What’s your name?” Homura watched anxiously from all sides. So far no one had jumped out to ambush him.

The girl sniffled. “K-Kusano,” she answered.

“That’s a nice name Kusano. We can talk in a little bit. Could you climb into my shirt now? We should hurry.”

The small blonde didn’t seem perturbed by the request, she looked too relieved, so she merely did as Homura said and squeezed herself underneath his under-most shirt. It was a very tight squeeze, but she didn’t question anything and remained silent.

Homura coughed lightly because his chest was constricted, but he ignored that to quickly turn and run back to the wall. Erwin was still standing there, his majestic eyebrows drawn down in disappointment. He frowned heavily but pulled Homura up when the man reached the wall.

As soon as Homura was back to safety he climbed down the wall to the other side and headed out of the E field. Once clear he dropped down to his knees and helped Kusano out. When she was out and safe, and stumbled back onto her feet, Homura collapsed onto his back and took deep, even breaths.

That had been extremely stressful. There could have been an ambush. He was such an easy target, and he had known that. But he had run out to the child anyway.

Since they had started to turn survivors away, not one of them had had a child with them. The youngest survivors were teenagers.

Homura could definitely not have stood there and told the little girl to turn around and walk back down the road. Her feet were bare and raw, bleeding and crusted with mud. She looked like she had just been through absolute hell. His heart had shattered at the sight of her, and he thought about Nova.

Erwin approached angrily and Homura stood to talk to him. While he approached Kusano hid behind Homura and clutched to the back of his pants. Erwin noticed and he paused.

“Homura,” the man said angrily. “You could have been killed or captured! What if the rebels had been using her to draw us out? What if she is a trap? The child could have a bomb strapped to her, or could be working for them! What about Nova, what about everyone else?”

“I know,” Homura growled. “But I could _not_ watch this child walk away. If it had been anyone else, I would have given them the usual warning. But look at her. Do you honestly see a trap, a traitor? She’s just a child, and she managed to get here all on her own. I won’t allow you to send her out there again. I won’t do that to a child.”

“But what if-”

“What if it was Nova!” Homura shouted. “What if we were a different group, and Nova had managed to walk here on her own. What if others turned her away?!”

Kusano started to tremble and tears were leaking down her face. “M-m-mister,” she said timidly and tugged Homura’s shirt.

Homura immediately crouched down by her and gently took her hands into his. “Don’t worry, I won’t let the mean man send you away. You’re safe now.”

The little girl sniffled loudly but that wasn’t enough to hold back the tide of tears. The gravity of her situation was finally starting to crash down on her, and her young mind wasn’t strong enough to handle it.

She started to wail and fell against Homura’s chest. The man instinctively wrapped his arms around her and swallowed hard. Her cries were agonized.

Erwin watched uncomfortably and he noticed the others running towards them. They must have heard him shouting when Homura had jumped the wall.

The others were shocked to see the small child crying in Homura’s arms, and when he glared at them they knew not to make one single comment. They knew that look. It was the look that meant Homura was going to protect, and he was going to save. No one could stand in his way when his eyes flashed with that much fire.

XxX

After crying herself into exhaustion Kusano had fallen asleep on her feet. Homura hadn’t complained and when Erwin ordered everyone to go to their HQ he didn’t protest. He merely stood, Kusano cradled gently against his chest, and followed everyone else.

Inside the bank they all sat down at the table where maps littered the surface, though Erwin remained on his feet. He paced for a long while and no one said anything.

Petra was staring at Kusano with sad, shocked eyes. Nova was asleep, too, luckily. Krista looked surprised and worried and Ymir looked pissed. Mikasa and Annie looked stoic, so their thoughts on the situation were unknown. Hanji wasn’t among them.

Eventually Erwin had collected himself enough to sit down and regard everyone. The first thing he had to do was explain what the hell was happening.

“Firstly, Homura broke our most important rule. Instead of giving our usual warning, he radioed me to join him and then he jumped the wall. He retrieved the child and returned.” Erwin locked his hands together and took deep breaths through his nose. “We now have a problem.”

“I refuse to leave a child out there!” Homura responded hotly. He knew exactly how impulsive his actions had been. He had put everyone in danger, he knew that. He fucking knew it. But there was no way in hell that he could have stood there and done nothing. _No way_.

Everyone was quiet for a long moment, and then Krista decided to break the tense silence. “Since she’s here there’s nothing we can really do. I think when she wakes up we should ask her a bunch of questions and see what happened before she got here.”

“We can’t throw her out,” Petra said strongly. She clutched Nova to her chest. “She’s still a baby.”

“I don’t like this situation, but I agree. We are still human,” Annie said, surprising Mikasa and most of the others.

Erwin locked gazes with all of them, and then he sighed and relented. “Fine, we wait to see what the child says.”

Homura exhaled in relief. His body relaxed and he realized that he had been tense up until that moment. When his muscles relaxed Kusano shifted, and then she lifted her head and looked up at Homura through teary green eyes.

“Mister?”

Homura glanced down in surprise and then he smiled. “Hey Kusano, you’re awake. Listen, before we can let you stay we need to talk to you, do you understand?”

Kusano realized that they were in a room and she took a look around. She noticed everyone there and felt dissuaded by the many piercing gazes. She visibly shrank and clutched Homura’s shirt between her small fingers. She began to tremble and Homura sighed.

“We won’t hurt you Kusano, please don’t be scared.”

Kusano managed to nod but she kept her face pressed to Homura’s chest.

“Can we ask questions now?” Ymir spoke up suddenly. She was glaring at Homura, but only half-heartedly. Everyone was terrified of what this new development could mean, but they agreed that Homura did the right thing. Even Ymir thought so. She wouldn’t have been able to just leave the kid there, though she doubted that she would have rushed so selflessly to save her.

“There is no time to make her comfortable, we need answers now,” Erwin said commandingly. His anger was still evident by his glare.

Homura understood, so he gently pulled the girl away from his chest and lifted her chin. “Kusano, how did you get here?” He made sure to ask it as gently as possible, and he smiled reassuringly to ease the girl’s fear. He also kept a firm grip on her chin to prevent her from looking at the others and being scared again.

“W-we were coming here. Mommy heard from uncle that people have a safe place, and she was taking me here.”

“Was it just you and your mommy?” Kusano shook her head. “Who else was with you?”

“Uncle.”

“How did you get here?”

“I w-walked.”

“All on your own?”

“Y-y-yes.” Kusano teared up again and rubbed at her watery eyes with her fists. Her bottom lip poked out and trembled.

The others in the room shared pained looks, but otherwise made no reaction. No one spoke either, because they didn’t want to scare her again.

“Where are your mommy and uncle?” Homura asked.

Kusano sniffed more loudly. “Th-they got taken away.”

“By who?”

“By the bad men that made us crash.”

“Bad men? Did you manage to see who these men were?”

Kusano shook her head and she pulled her lip back. “Mommy told me to run, so I did. I followed the road and found here. I-I’m sorry.”

Homura stood suddenly and leaned over to the biggest map. He pointed at an image in the corner of the map that had been drawn there with red marker. “Kusano, did the men have this symbol on a banner?”

Kusano shrunk slightly because she could feel the other’s watching, but she managed to nod ever so slightly.

Everyone released a collective breath. “Damn, it’s those bastards.” Ymir hissed softly.

Homura sat back down and gave Kusano a pat on the head. “You’re doing well, Kusano. I’m impressed that you made it here on your own.”

Kusano’s eyes dropped. “Mommy is gone, isn’t she?”

Homura frowned. He didn’t know how to respond, so instead he decided to distract her. “Hey! How would a nice bath sound? You look like you need it. And you need your scratches patched up.”

Kusano’s face lifted. “A bath? I haven’t had a bath in a long time!”

Homura smiled and ruffled her hair. “Then a bath it is. Petra, could you-”

“No!”

“Kusano?”

Kusano hid her face against Homura’s chest again. “C-can mister do it?”

Homura turned to Petra with panic and Petra smiled.

“Let’s do it together, then?” She stood and smiled when Kusano glanced her way. “She’s here now, like Krista said. We might as well get her clean and healthy. Right, Erwin?” Petra looked up to meet Erwin’s eyes, and the man looked away uncomfortably.

He still had so many disagreements and worries, but for now he waved his hand and stood to leave. “Sure. Make sure the child behaves.”

Petra left with Homura following, and everyone else shared a worried gaze.

Life just wouldn’t stay uneventful, would it? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	34. Chapter 34

Krista, Erwin, Hanji and Ymir sat round a table after breakfast, in one of the offices in the bank. Ymir took advantage of the comfortable seats provided and spun around in boredom, waiting for Erwin to set up the discussion. Krista giggled and imitated her, and soon Hanji was also spinning her chair around and waiting.

Erwin shook his head in amusement and laid down a map with flag markers and territorial outlines. He passed everyone a sheet of paper and a pencil. Ymir snorted and began making a paper airplane out of it, and the blonde man was once again reminded that these brave teenagers were once students.

“The reason why we’re here today,” Erwin began, “is to-”

“That’s a really shitty airplane, Ymir,” Hanji criticized, showing her own, “it’s not aerodynamic at all, and your wings are amateurish.”

Ymir narrowed her eyes and eyeballed Hanji’s plane. “Well, yours is lame,” Ymir pointed out, “and too fragile - one bump and it’ll crumble to pieces.”

“Impossi-”

Hanji jolted back when Ymir’s paper airplane came flying at her face and bumped her nose. She fell off of her chair and the brunette laughed raucously while clutching her stomach. The bespectacled woman lifted herself up and soon began laughing as well, hunched over the table. Erwin rubbed his temples and Krista sighed. The blondes gave each other a look of amusement, then nodded.

Krista stood, went behind Ymir, and pushed her chair out of the room. Due to her newly-acquired strength, the brunette was shoved away pretty far and ended up crashing against a water-disposing machine in the corner. Yelling out her fury, Ymir made to make a move against her lover when Hanji was shoved into her as well. Erwin stood at the doorway to the room with a disapproving frown.

“Once you two grow up, we’ll talk. For now, Krista and I will discuss any further action regarding the rebels and Kusano,” he declared, slamming the door and locking it. Beside the door, there was a wide window that displayed what was going on and blocked the sound. Ymir went up to it and banged her fists, scowling at Krista who winked and blew a kiss.

Krista couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she could definitely read those delicious lips of hers. What came out certainly wasn’t too attractive, however.

Erwin released the blinds, thereby blocking Ymir’s furious tirade and cursing, then turned to Krista with a professional look.

“Alright, Krista, let’s try and see if we can figure out a plan.”

The blonde girl nodded and pointed towards the markers Erwin had set up to indicate the opposition’s formations. “As I’ve mentioned before, this is obviously an attempt to try and overtake us by surrounding our territory. I have no doubt within my mind that they are trying to figure out ways to bypass our E field, since they’ve already come up with the technology to control the undead. This is why we need to end them before they reach that point.”

Erwin nodded, rubbing his chin. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking as well. Hanji mentioned that the material she uses for insulation is in all actuality quite common, but unlikely to be taken seriously. I wouldn’t doubt that eventually, they’ll find a way to get through, especially if they saw Homura put that girl under his shirt.”

“If we can eliminate them quickly, we can rid ourselves of a threat and keep this place secure. I would prefer to avoid a massacre, but like Ymir said, we can’t have anyone holding a grudge against us and coming back with vengeance.”

Erwin smiled and crossed his arms. “She’s clever, but very crass, that Ymir.”

“That’s Ymir for you,” Krista laughed. She paused, allowing the fondness to sink in and the warmth in her chest to spread, then she returned to her seriousness. “I think we should disarm all of our traps and allow the enemy to enter the perimeters of our base. This way, we lull them into a false sense of security, and, with Mikasa and Annie in the shadows, they could quickly activate hidden traps and destroy whatever guard the leader brought. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

Erwin remained silent, then he shook his head. “No.”

Krista’s expression turned crestfallen but she quickly covered her disappointment. “No?”

“It’s far too risky. We have two children here, and though Petra has certainly gotten a lot stronger, not everyone can defend themselves. If something goes wrong, as I’m sure it will, then we’re risking more than just compromising the only safe place in Japan. I’m not even sure if they’ll actually send their leader out to talk, or maybe a decoy, or anything to lower our guard. It was an excellent idea, but it cannot work with so little people manning it.”

Krista shook her head and tried to argue, but Erwin would have none of it. “Krista, what say you to this idea: we send someone to assassinate the leader of the rebels, and from then on, we trap the rebels in our own net of traps. Hanji has already discovered technology to detect mines - we can use that to our advantage and develop technology to detect both humans and zombies.”

“But Erwin, that is way too dangerous. Who could possibly bypass all of their extensive security and reach their base? We don’t even know where their base is!”

Erwin lifted the blinds and Krista paled when she understood. Ymir had an annoyed look on her face, being forced to listen to Hanji’s ramblings about her latest invention. Her palms were against her ears, and when she noticed Krista staring at her sadly, she immediately grew worried and jumped up.

Ymir put a hand to the glass and Krista put her hand to hers. They both smiled at each other, though Krista’s was understandably morose. The blonde had tears in her eyes, which made Ymir look up fiercely at Erwin, who remained stoic. Clenching her other fist, she punched the glass and wordlessly demanded to be let in. Erwin unlocked the door and Ymir barged in, immediately sizing up the blonde man.

“What happened?”

“Ymir…” Krista took a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. Ymir was her weak spot - she had hardened over the year of training, but if anything could pull out her softness, it was a blow to what she loved most, or rather, _who_.

But this wasn’t the time to cry - no, Krista could actually _do_ something this time.

“I’m going with her,” Krista announced loudly. Erwin’s eyebrows knotted and he opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off quickly.

“If you honestly think I’m going to let you send her out on a suicidal mission, you’re insane, Erwin.”

“Send who out on a mission?” Ymir asked in confusion.

Erwin sighed and shook his head. “No, I can’t allow that.”

“You allowing it or not is not going to stop me from being with the one I love. Do you want a repeat of what happened to Nanaba and Petra, happening to us? Is that what you want, Erwin?”

“What’s going-”

“Absolutely not!” Erwin thundered, slamming his fist on the table, “but I can’t have all of you dying out there on some unknown, poorly-planned mission! The most skilled should be able to do the most with the least, and Ymir has proven her capabilities thus far! You going with her would only hinder her!”

“No, it wouldn’t!” Krista shouted back, unflinching. “We haven’t been training separately for an entire damn year - we’ve been training _together_. I know Ymir better than anyone else, and we work together like the moon works with the ocean - we make _waves_ everywhere we go.”

Ymir snorted and bit her lip to suppress her laughter. Not only had Krista gotten stronger, but she had gotten cheesier too. Krista glanced in annoyance at the brunette and slapped her abs.

“Shut it, Ymir, I’m doing this for us,” Krista snapped.

Ymir was slightly impressed by her display of authority, and resigned to ask questions later. She had to admit, she was somewhat turned on by the way her little blonde seemed to be taking control of the situation.

Erwin sat down heavily and bowed his head. “I’ll think this over with Hanji later. Just go and return to your normal duties. If anything happens, sound the alarm.”

The two bowed and left the office, leaving Hanji to conference with Erwin. Before they left, Krista overheard a snippet of the adults’ conversation.

“Hanji… I need to go tonight.”

Ymir grabbed Krista’s hand to get her attention and swung it back and forth between them once they left the bank.

“What the hell was that all about?” Ymir asked.

Krista blew air between her teeth in annoyance and shook her head. “Erwin was being an idiot. I don’t know what’s wrong with him nowadays - he’s been really weird lately with all his decisions. He even hesitated with that little girl!”

“He was concerned for our safety.”

“I think he’s just stressed, and he’s stuck on how to proceed. So he’s shooting down any ideas that don’t sound one-hundred percent perfect to him and using his own ideas.”

“What, did he disagree with your plan?”

Krista explained everything that happened between her and Erwin, including what he said to her and his own ideas. Ymir stayed quiet as she listened, even when they reached the gate and proceeded to their regular patrol and lookout stations. By the end of the explanation, Ymir looked to be in serious contemplation mode.

“So he wants me to assassinate the leader?”

Krista nodded once solemnly, but jolted back when Ymir let out a joyful shout. She had a proud grin on her face and her nose was turned up confidently.

“Take that Mikasa and Annie,” Ymir exclaimed arrogantly.

The blonde threw her arms up in exasperation. “Ymir! Seriously? This is your _life_ we’re talking about here!”

The brunette shrugged and leaned against her post. “I’m a badass, so I don’t need to worry about that kind of stuff. I’ve been on so many ‘suicidal’ missions and I’ve always come back sexier than ever.”

The blonde could not believe her ears. Was Ymir seriously just joking about this? Was she thinking of accepting this mission because of how confident she was in her abilities, without even thinking of the risks it entailed? Krista narrowed her eyes in realization.

“You’re full of shit.”

Ymir tilted her head to the side and smirked. “Aw, the little kitty decided to roar.”

Krista pointed at Ymir angrily. “You think I don’t know what you’re up to? Well, I do! I know exactly what you’re thinking and I know what game you’re playing, so it’s not gonna work with me.”

Ymir shrugged. “Believe what you want, but I’m not doing this mission for anyone but myself. I wanna rip that bastard apart.” Ymir shifted her eyes to the side and stared at the town’s entrance. The blonde looked at her wife with worry and sighed sadly, wondering how to get her to admit her true intentions.

It was obvious that Ymir was thinking of taking the mission purely for the others, in order to finally end their troubles and allow their lives to prosper peacefully. Especially with Nova, and now Kusano, it was crucial to eliminate any threats to their safety as soon as possible, or else things could get messy in the future. But of course, Ymir just wasn’t the type to admit to doing good for anyone but herself, and so she convinced herself that she was doing it for selfish reasons, in order to lessen the burden on her shoulders. Krista, on the other hand, wasn’t fooled.

Still, she wondered what was wrong with Erwin, why he seemed to want to directly attack their enemies despite their lack of manpower. How could they even think of directly attacking the man responsible for their troubles if they didn’t even know where he was? Where was the logic in that? And what was up with him leaving tonight? Krista began to realize then that she couldn’t depend on a single man to lead them, even if he had been a good leader thus far.

She was determined to find out exactly what was wrong with him, and would do so tonight.

Ymir watched her wife’s facial expressions shift in thought, and wondered what her little minx was up to now. The blonde had become much bolder in recent times, what with her newly-gained confidence. The brunette decided she would simply just wait for her to tell her. She imagined it would be pretty interesting regardless of the outcome.

And she was right.

x

Later that night, Krista snuck out from her and Ymir’s apartment and trotted down the road to where Erwin lived - a modest house right next to the bank. She glanced up and noticed Homura patrolling the gates, vigilant as ever, but thankfully unaware of her sneaking around. With a slow breath, Krista kept to the shadows and turned the knob leading into Erwin’s home.

She made sure to stay close to the walls, instantly hearing Erwin’s loud snoring. She never thought him the snoring type, but then again, she didn’t know much about him anyway. He was a complete mystery to her even after all these months of working and living together. She wondered how she could blindly trust someone she barely knew, but attributed it to his successful decision-making - something he was starting to lack lately.

The blonde remembered when he had sent her on a scouting mission that was supposed to have taken only a few days, according to him, but ended up taking the better part of two weeks. He merely dismissed it as unpredictable circumstances, but she had an inkling that he had sent her out blind. The information was worthwhile, but Ymir had been enraged, and Krista, exhausted.

He was getting desperate, that much was certain, but desperate for _what_ , exactly, she had no idea. She needed to find out now.

Creeping into his bedroom, Krista watched the figure under the blankets fall and rise with his breaths, and then turn fitfully in his sleep, as though under the influence of a nightmare. With careful steps, the blonde girl stayed close to the floor and pried open his drawers, finding some full of neatly folded clothes and others filled to the brim with papers, both crumpled and torn. She sifted through the papers but found nothing of interest - these were simply old plans and discarded ideas on Erwin’s part.

She noticed that he spent most of his time planning, and felt slightly guilty for doubting and probing him like this, but remained firm and resolute in her suspicions. Something was off.

She went through his clothes and found nothing, under his bed, through his desk, everywhere. Finally, she looked at his pillow and swallowed nervously. She could give that a try, just for the heck of it, but she had to be super careful.

As she tiptoed to his bed, she slowly extended her hand and inched it under his pillow. Throughout the process, she observed his eyelids shift in his sleep, indicating a deep dream within his sleep. She held her breath and moved more into the pillow, watching his lips smack together in a sudden thirst. Suddenly, he reached out and she jolted aside, watching his hand sleepily grab a cup of water on the night table next to her. She kept completely still as he sat up and gulped down the whole glass. He set it back down, his eyes closed, and returned to his sleep.

Krista breathed a sigh of relief and continued her probing, finally coming into contact with an envelope. Quickly, she snatched it and backed away from Erwin. She had to make a choice now: read it, and then leave it here? Or take it back in order to fully examine it and risk Erwin getting seriously upset? Krista chose neither - she sat down at the blonde man’s desk and gingerly opened the envelope, taking out the letter to copy its contents to another sheet of paper. As she jotted down the words, she read them to herself.

_So, you think you can evade your demise forever? You think we haven’t found a way inside your little mouse hole? You’re wrong, friend, you are desperately wrong._

_König… what a fool he was - his entire base, the safest place in Japan - I have destroyed it already, and his warriors are the newest soldiers in my biologically-superior army. I have sent you a little present - his head, in all its glory, in a box fit for a king._

_If König could not escape his fate, then neither will you, dear friend._

_-Eric_

Krista stopped writing at that point and paled drastically. So this was the reason Erwin was so reluctant - König had lost and had gotten slaughtered, and now he was under the same threat; they all were under that threat. It was obvious Eric wouldn’t spare anyone, and it was evident that they would be tortured before killed.

Krista wondered how Erwin had gotten the letter - but then she remembered that Jezebel had given them that other letter from so long ago, so it was probably the same case here. She wondered where he could have put the head, if he had even gotten it, and why he didn’t tell anyone about this. Weren’t they a team? Didn’t they help each other out, survive together?

 _He must have been afraid for us,_ Krista thought sadly, _he must have felt lost and powerless, and so concentrated his energy in defeating Eric once and for all. But he made one mistake - he lost his trust in us in exchange for his increased planning hours._

Krista slipped away from the desk and replaced the original letter under Erwin’s pillow. However, since the blonde was far too engrossed in escaping quietly, she failed to notice that Erwin had stopped snoring a while ago. He sat up when the door to his home clicked shut, and looked out at the moon shining from his window.

“It’s time to end this,” he said softly.

Erwin stepped up to his wardrobe and clicked a button. Immediately, an assortment of battle gear presented itself in front of him - months of work by Hanji in order to prepare Erwin for this day. This foolishness would end once and for all.

x

Krista entered the apartment and shut the door, but she hadn’t anticipated the sudden flicker of lights. Ymir raised an eyebrow when Krista hissed, then chuckled at the cold glare.

“What’s got your panties in a knot?” Ymir asked mirthfully.

Krista sighed and dropped the letter on the table. “Read this. I’m going to sleep.”

“Did you forget that tonight is _that_ night?”

Krista stopped walking, paled and smacked her forehead. “I did.”

Ymir rolled her eyes and pulled her wife with her out the door. “Let’s go, then. We’ll deal with your sneaking out issues later.”

x

Krista, Mikasa, Annie and Petra sat together on the beach, late at night. It was the anniversary of the deaths of their comrades, the death of their old lives. Krista thought it only respectful to conduct a ceremony in remembrance, so they wouldn’t lose sight of what brought them here, of what kept them alive. However, because of recent events, she had completely forgotten about their little ceremony. Thankfully, Ymir had been keen enough to remind her.

Everyone else was busy or asleep; Homura had been kind enough to accept Petra’s favour of watching the girls, who were asleep and cuddled up to him in his home. Nova instantly took a liking to Kusano and vice versa, and the new girl was incredibly relieved to have someone around her age to play with.

When asked if she wanted to participate as well, Ymir shrugged and announced that she knew nobody and she didn’t care. She remained near the gates to patrol in their absence, however.

The three younger girls planted slabs of wood along the beach in upright positions, while Petra went around and lit a candle to stick onto each and every one of them. The slabs of wood held the names of all the people who they remembered that had perished so many months ago. At the forefront of the grave, the names of people whom they had come into direct contact with struck a sense of nostalgia and bitterness.

Levi, Sasha, Jean, Marco, Eren, Armin, Connie… and Nanaba.

Petra dropped to her knees in front of Levi’s slab and traced his name gingerly.

“Thank you for protecting me all those years ago, even though I could take care of myself. I don’t think about you as much as I should, but I miss you. You were always a hardass, but you cared, and that was more than enough.”

Petra had learned the truth about Levi’s death from Mikasa and Annie a long time ago, back when they were still in Sina. After explaining their stories, the girls had taken Petra aside and explained word for word exactly how Levi died and what Mikasa did to prevent his turning into a zombie. The woman had been distressed and horrified, but she thanked the oriental girl for honouring his final wish. She had commented on Mikasa’s ruthlessness, but said nothing and wallowed in her sadness only until Nanaba had swept her off her feet.

Remembering Nanaba made her heart jerk painfully, and it was with great reluctance that Petra turned her eyes to Nanaba’s grave and cautiously traced her name as well. Her ring, still on her finger, scratched against the wood. The woman sat with a vacant look as she remembered all the moments she had with Nanaba, both the good and the bad. She remembered crying for her lover as she was sent out on yet another mission, laughing when the blonde bumped into the dresser in her hurry to ravish her seductive lover, smiling gently when she saw her wife cradling Nova against her chest in her sleep…

The orange-haired woman put a hand to her mouth and stood up. Shaking her head, she left the beach and marched straight to her living quarters. Mikasa, Annie and Krista watched her go with a cloud of sadness over their heads.

“This was a bad idea…” Petra muttered entering her room and flopping down onto her bed. She curled up and closed her eyes, clutching the cloth above her heart and hoping, wishing that Nanaba was alive somewhere, that despite being told she was dead, the blonde was being held captive somewhere, waiting to be rescued.

But this wasn’t a fantasy, this was reality. Nanaba was dead, and she wasn’t coming back.

When Jezebel had brought that letter so long ago, Petra had foolishly hoped it was a message from Nanaba, saying she was alive and well and recovering. Or maybe that it was a ransom note, assuring Nanaba’s safety in exchange for something. She wasn’t even close.

Now they were stuck between paradise and hell, trapped with living comfortably and securely and never venturing out into the world again. They had sunshine on their backs and bloodstained spears aimed at them in the front.

It was all Eric’s fault. It was his fault that Nanaba was dead and Nova was orphaned. And it was König’s fault too. Petra had swirled in the same cycle over the last twelve months, blaming the entire Earth for her lover’s demise and developing a hatred for anything related to the famous king brothers. One was a merciless psychopath, and the other a naïve imbecile.

Let them massacre each other, Petra thought bitterly, just leave us out of it.

But then she would remember the women and children in König’s care, the men who sometimes commented on Nanaba’s luck with her and Nova, and Olaf and everyone who she had grown to care for. Her shame would shadow her hatred, and she would resign to crying until she fell asleep.

Nanaba was gone, and there was nothing that could bring her back.

A year was more than enough time to grieve, and though Petra knew she would never be able to refill the hole in her heart, she promised herself to be the best parent she could to Nova. After all, the little girl more than deserved it, since both her biological parents were gone.

x

Back at the beach, the three girls sat in front of Sasha’s grave and remained motionless. They kept quiet for a long time, remembering their dear friend and indulging in memories. Krista had fondly placed boiled potatoes and bread in front of her grave. Sasha had always been a heavy eater, which might have been her most striking personality trait if not for her loyalty.

“Remember that time,” Krista started, gaining Mikasa and Annie’s attention, “when we all went out for lunch together on the weekend and Sasha ended up eating us into debt?”

Mikasa laughed lightly and tucked her nose into her scarf. “And then we ended up having to work for the restaurant to pay off our debt, since we couldn’t afford what she’d eaten.”

Annie leaned against Mikasa and smirked. “So from then on, we ordered for Sasha and sent warnings to all the restaurants to ignore any orders from her above our budget.”

The three laughed together and smiled fondly. It had been a while since they’d seen their friend, but they remembered her happy brown eyes above anything. It was a testament to Mikasa’s recovery that she could speak of Sasha without feeling the inevitable guilt weighing her down. She had let the brunette go, and in return, she was allowed to remember the good times with her dear friend. And she had Annie to thank.

They lied down against the soft sand and stared up at the sky. Without interference from the city lights, they could see the stars clearly and beautifully. They could even see their own galaxy. Krista wondered if she should tell them about what she had discovered, but decided she should discuss it with Ymir first before deciding anything. Ymir was an excellent debate partner who always helped her come up with the best solutions.

“Sasha always wanted to be a chef,” Mikasa said softly, interrupting Krista’s thoughts, “but I told her she’d be a horrible businesswoman because she would eat all of her profits. Then she laughed and told me that was true, but not for that reason.”

“Do you remember what she replied after that?” Annie asked.

Mikasa nodded. “Yes, she told me that she would go out of business because she would give everyone free food.”

“She always was generous,” Krista remarked aloud.

There was silence once more, and then footsteps from behind made them turn to greet Ymir, who had raised an eyebrow at all the candles protruding from the slabs of wood.

“I hope you’re not keeping these here,” Ymir said dryly.

Krista laughed and stood up, dusting herself off. She immediately reached for Ymir’s hand and played with her long fingers. “No, of course not, love. We’re throwing them into the ocean afterwards. This way, we can finally come to terms with everything we lost and no longer have to look back.”

Ymir nodded and smiled slightly down at Krista. “Let’s get started then. It’ll be dawn in a few hours.”

The four went around and extinguished the tiny flames, picked up the slabs and threw them out into the ocean. After cleaning up the mess, they walked back to their homes. When Krista glanced behind her one final time, she could’ve sworn she’d seen a faint silhouette resembling Sasha smile brightly at her and wave, then getting tugged away by Connie.

The blonde turned around and giggled, leaning her head on Ymir’s strong shoulder. She could finally let everything go.

None of them noticed the shadow climbing up the wall and jumping outside.

x

_“Mama!”_

_Petra turned around and caught a weight before it slammed into her. Pushing the weight back, she saw bright golden eyes staring up at her below a blonde fringe. A smile resided below the orbs of gold, which made Petra giggle and bend down to plant a loving kiss on her daughter’s forehead._

_“Nova, sweetie,” Petra greeted, “where’s your father?”_

_“She’s coming! She had to fix a few things so she told me to come here and let you know that everything’s alright.” Nova pulled back and stripped her leather boots and vest off. Now bare-footed and only wearing a cotton shirt and pants, she stood next to her mother and watched her sew another pair of socks she’d ripped._

_“It’s a good thing she did - I was starting to grow worried.”_

_Nova smiled and kissed her mother’s cheek. “No need to be worried, Mama! Daddy takes good care of us.” Nova poked the pile of laundry and pouted. “Do I have to put all of these away later?”_

_Petra sighed and patted her daughter’s head. “Yes, dear, you know how chores are done in this house.”_

_“But-!”_

_“Honey, I’m home!”_

_“Shh, your father’s here, we’ll talk later.” Petra stood and made to greet Nanaba, who was bent over and untying her shoelaces. She removed her leather boots and vest in much the same way Nova did, and turned around to place the items away._

_Petra waited patiently and smiled when Nanaba straightened. Her heart swelled with love as she gently thumbed her lover’s neck, planting a kiss on the back and massaging her shoulders. Nanaba chuckled._

_“Already excited to see me?”_

_Petra kissed her again and smiled. “Mmhmm…”_

_“I missed you.”_

_Nanaba turned around and Petra lifted her head to stare into honey eyes, but found none to be seen. Pale in shock, Petra staggered back gaping and breaking out into a cold sweat. Nanaba immediately crouched and put her hands out in worry, but there was no facial expression to be seen._

_All there was, was a blank canvas where Nanaba’s eyes, mouth and nose were supposed to be._

_Petra gasped and tears leaked out when Nanaba approached her. The blonde cupped Petra’s cheek and lowered her head sadly._

_“You’ve forgotten me…”_

Petra woke up suddenly and shot up. That was… Unable to finish the thought, the woman pushed her blankets aside and walked out of her apartment. She ventured down the roads and came across the shore where she had been forced to come to terms with Nanaba’s death once more. It seemed as though the girls had cleaned up the ceremony, but they had forgotten to take out Nanaba’s slab. Or maybe they’d purposefully left it there. Either way, Petra approached it and crouched down once more.

She wondered what the dream meant. Of course, Nanaba’s features were slowly being forgotten because she had no picture of them to hold on to, but to completely forget her? There was no way that was possible. Petra would never forget Nanaba.

Nova was a lot older in her dream than she was now. Not to mention, Petra had immediately recognized it was her. And the house they were in… where was that? The orange-haired woman could take a few guesses.

Before the apocalypse, she had been a psychology teacher at her school. And so, she understood that her dream represented her hopes and desires for a happy life with her loved ones, and that her laundry signified the work to be done, and that Nova was meant to help her. Nanaba’s appearance signified a deep sadness that only Nova could understand, therefore their support of each other was the only possible way to come through this intact.

The orange-haired woman sighed and stood, picking up Nanaba’s name and throwing it to the ocean. She didn’t know what would happen next, but at least she had Nova and the others with her. All she had to do was take one step at a time.

x

“Please! Mercy!”

Erwin twisted the neck of the rebel in his arms and dropped him to the floor. It was the same tune over and over again. All he heard was ‘death to you!’ and then ‘mercy!’ a few seconds into the fight. He was growing tired of the constant battles and wanted to get this over with.

He had taken a peek at one of the maps in the camp and noticed that an area was more bolded than the rest - therefore indicating more importance. It was this that convinced him he was close to the base, which meant he was close to Eric. He didn’t know if he’d be able to finish this before sunrise, but it was crucial he gave it a try. If he perished out here, at least he had been able to thin their numbers for the others.

Erwin kept the mask around his face and his hood over his hair. The mysterious appearance gave him an edge over the rebels, since he could sneak around the shadows and strike fear into their hearts. It was thanks to Jezebel he had been able to come up with this gear, since the woman had often visited him in secret to provide info on the rebels.

When asked of her motives, Jezebel had simply stated she only thought Salmoneus to be the king of the dead, and so anyone else was to be eliminated. Their common enemy made them friends.

The woman constantly sabotaged rebel camps, stole their plans and letters to Erwin, and then delivered them herself. This way, Erwin could trust the contents and be assured that nothing was poisoned or false. Anything that hindered Erwin’s progress was destroyed by Jezebel, though she tried not to do too much in order to avoid being noticed.

The only reason Erwin had decided to contact Jezebel now and begin their plan was because of Krista - she had figured out too much too soon, and his plans of getting the others distracted with different tasks had failed miserably. How else could Kusano have gotten here without getting killed? It was Jezebel’s doing - she hadn’t been able to save the uncle and the mother, but she had killed the other rebels and pointed the girl to the camp without revealing herself.

If Krista hadn’t been so observant, Erwin would have been able to stall for more time. Mentioning Ymir’s name had gotten her riled up, which is what the blonde had hoped for, but it had also gotten her _too_ riled and therefore _more_ suspicious. Erwin hated these tricks, but Jezebel assured him the least casualties would occur if he did it this way. At least now Krista would be occupied with trying to figure out what he was up to - he only hoped Hanji wouldn’t say anything before he got back.

Erwin would make sure Eric’s head was on a pike before the end of the week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	35. Chapter 35

It was an hour after leaving his home that Erwin happened upon the second last camp he would decimate. He approached this one like he had the others, with silence and deadly precision. Each camp had a number of guards watching the area, and the further Erwin went the heavier the guarding became. This strengthened his belief that Eric’s main base was near, where the man himself resided.

His clothing was made of a special black material that completely swallowed his presence from even the most trained eye. This allowed him to easily slip through the forest unnoticed, assassinating everything in his path. Even the dead were barely able to detect him, which made Erwin mentally note that down to report to Hanji. Was it possible to create clothing that could mask their body heat? If so, they could evade the dead forever – or at least until the creatures had gone past their expiration date.

The man had just closed in on the new camp, and it was definitely larger than the last. There were a number of tents set up, and Erwin quickly took a count of six. The last one had had four. There were more men here, too. At least twenty guards surrounded the entrance of the camp. All around the perimeter they had wired the area and attached objects to the lines that would jingle noisily should anything walk into it. Erwin didn’t need to follow the wire to know that it completely surrounded the camp. He had come to understand that these rebels had their own security measures, though seemingly Neanderthal.

Erwin was reminded of how lucky they were to have Hanji and her brilliance. Being able to live carefree of the dead was pleasant. But out here Erwin didn’t have that relief.

The more he travelled away the more of the creatures he encountered. He had already lost count of how many he had killed already. It was only when they had stumbled too close that they had noticed him, and mostly Erwin would go up to them to silence them. He did not need them ruining his cover.

Currently there were a few groaning and stumbling through the forest behind him, but he ignored it. He would need to make it past all of those guards, so Erwin silently crawled close to them and then he tugged at the wire. He melted into the dark shortly after and he watched as a few of the men were sent to check what had caused the noise.

As if luck was on his side, one of the zombies stumbled close enough that when the rebel soldiers came to investigate they assumed that it had walked into the wire. One of the men retrieved a knife and quickly stabbed it in the forehead, and then he kicked at the corpse in disgust.

“I hate close combat with these things,” the man said.

One of his partners clucked his tongue. “We all do, but you get used to it, you know?”

“And bullets should be reserved for the living,” the third man said. “Thomas, go with Steve and search the area for more of these things. I can hear them groaning. I’ll go and report back to Sergeant that it was a false alarm.”

The other two men, Thomas and Steve, whined together. “Shit, why can’t you do it Paul?”

Paul gave Steve a hard shove. “Because I said so, dickhead. Just do it. I’ll come back to help.”

Thomas started to sweat, so he pulled Steve away before the man could attack, and sent Paul a short wave. “We’ll be quick so you don’t need to come back.”

Paul turned. “Whatever, don’t fuck around.” And then he marched back where he had come from to join the other men. Once he was gone Steve released an angered grunt and savagely kicked the head of the walker.

“Fucking asshole, is what he is!”

“Calm down,” Thomas urged. He heard a loud footstep from the distance and sighed. “Look, let’s just clear this area and then head back. Sergeant said that Eric sent word and we need to gather. Try not to fuck this up.”

Steve grunted. “Sure.” He made a move to follow behind Thomas, but then he suddenly froze and uttered a gurgled gasp.

Thomas heard and turned to his partner in concern. “Steve?”

Steve’s eyes rolled upwards and then blood exploded out of his mouth seconds before his head was pulled off of his body. Thomas didn’t even have time to scream before he saw a figure dart at him and a knife jabbed him once in the heart. Both men died instantly.

Erwin grimaced at the bloody mess but hurried to hide himself once more. He heard more footsteps, but he was sure they were live ones.

“Why do we have to come out here Paul?”

Paul was in front of a group of four men, his gun held out in front of him. “I heard something,” the man said. He slowly approached the scene, and then he tripped unexpectedly over one of the men’s bodies. His fellow soldiers were about to laugh at his expense, but then they realized what had tripped him and their faces drained of colour.

“Shit, it’s them!” one of them yelled. “They’re hiding!”

“Come out, you fuckers!”

Erwin sighed deeply and lifted his gun. He hadn’t wanted to use it, but he was feeling an urgency that he was running out of time. With the silencer on, the sound of the bullets flying out of the gun did not spoil the air. He took all five men out within seconds and then Erwin ran towards the other soldiers. He gave up on the stealthy approach.

They were surprised when a mass of black ran at them from the side, and most of them were too slow to respond. They fell dead at Erwin’s feet with deep cuts along their throats.

Erwin took about twenty minutes to clear the camp, and once he had killed their camp leader he found the message from Eric that one of the men had mentioned. It was inside of the tent they probably used for meetings. There was also a large map of the area, with each camp marked down on them.

Erwin mentally ticked off the ones he had destroyed, and his eye followed the line he had created until it stopped at the largest camp there. It was circled, and when Erwin read the note he was sure that it was the camp he was after. Luckily for him this map was more detailed, and each camp had an assigned number. The one Erwin had just taken was C2. The one Eric was in was the next one, C1. From the map Erwin deduced that it would take an hour to get there on foot.

So he took one of their trucks instead and left the place in a rush.

The camp didn’t seem to have a lot of soldiers when Erwin crashed into it. He had jumped from the vehicle and let it run right into a group of men walking to one of the tents. They weren’t fast enough and all of them were either killed or severely injured. Erwin used the surprise to his advantage and shot and killed every man and woman that noticed and ran his way.

He was done with waiting, with calculating and making strategies. Just this once he would run in like a barbarian, because he could now see the tent he was certain that Eric stayed in, and his blood began to boil with a certain adrenalin he had been feeling all night.

While Erwin dashed towards the tent he dodged bullets and killed the remaining soldiers. Seconds after the last one dropped Erwin skidded into the tent, gun pointed.

The man inside had been waiting upon a make-shift thrown, and when Erwin pointed his gun at him he merely stood, spread his arms and smirked.

“I have been expecting you. Welcome,” he said warmly, as if Erwin had been a family member he hadn’t seen in a long while.

“Eric,” Erwin breathed in disgust. “I have come to rip your head off of your shoulders, and I will not leave here without it.”

Eric clicked his tongue in disappointment and calmly walked over to a table with various bottles and cups on it. “Would you like a drink, Mr Freedom Fighter?” Eric asked while pouring brandy into a glass. “You look tense. Did something happen?”

Erwin had to swallow hard and blink the red from his vision. Staying up late for the last few weeks hadn’t been a good idea, and obsessing over this by himself hadn’t been a good idea either.

“Before I kill you,” Erwin said levelly, “I want to know what you think your actions would have accomplished.”

Eric seemed to find that funny, since he laughed and then took a long drink. “You are a funny man, has anyone ever said that?”

Erwin’s gun continued to follow him as he skipped over towards his thrown and returned to sitting on it. The man crossed a leg over the other, and then he leaned his elbow on the arm rest and grinned.

“I have killed all of your men.”

“Here, in C2, C3, C6 and C8. Yes, I know.” He didn’t seem worried by this at all, only amused. “Were they tough to defeat?” Erwin ignored him. “Well, if they could all be taken out so easily by one man, then I suppose you did me a service. By the way,” he suddenly straightened and leaned forward with a sadistic smirk and crazed, green eyes. His hair was also black and cropped short, and the shade reminded Erwin of König. “Did you get my little present?”

Erwin grimaced inside, but outwardly he didn’t even blink. “I did.”

Eric laughed like a mad man and clapped his hands. “Wonderful! Not even a flinch. You truly are a cold man.”

“Enough of your games. Are you going to answer me or will I kill you without ever knowing?”

Eric’s smile faded to a frown. “Oh boo, you’re no fun. Alright, I’ll let you know.” He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his life was practically over. All of his men had been taken out, Erwin was sure of it. There was no way that he could have called out for backup, so why did he look so calm?

 _No_ , Erwin thought, _he isn’t calm. He’s trying to remain calm by provoking me. He’s buying time with this nonsense. Should I rather just kill him now?_

“I will answer you, Erwin Smith of Maria Highschool.” Erwin’s eyes widened to saucers. How did this man know where he was from? “I have no real reason. Sure, I’m curious about how you set that fortress up. A large part of me wants to just bomb it up, but I think I’ll rather just kill all of your people and live there myself. I don’t really care if I end up bombing it up, though. It has no real relevance to me. I’m safe either way. I have been since the start. I’ve been utilising this apocalypse since it started. Ever heard of Trost? I started it all there. I discovered how to draw those creatures, and then I started to gather them. Salmoneus?” Erwin tightened his grip on his gun at the mention of that man. “He was but my subordinate. I allowed him to gain power, but he became drunk with it. His bitch still lives, doesn’t she? She has been the one messing with my troops and feeding you information.” Eric sighed heavily and ran a hand over his smooth chin. “I will have her raped and killed once all of this is over. I might even watch.”

Erwin’s mouth felt dry. The amount of fury pumping through his veins was dangerous. This man had been tormenting them for no real reason? He was threatening the lives of innocent people, of children, just because he could? How could someone so vile even exist? Erwin had heard enough. He no longer wanted to stand in Eric’s presence and listen to his foul ideas. The anger clouded his vision and he aimed for Eric’s chest.

The man finally seemed to realize his situation, since his eyes widened and he stood, but he was not fast enough to evade the several bullets that were plunged into his chest. He dropped onto his stomach and gurgled blood, and Erwin approached him to sever his head.

But then Eric laughed. It was crazed and amused, and Erwin felt a sudden sinking feeling.

“Want to know one last piece of information?” he asked.

Erwin kicked him over onto his back and stood heavily onto his injured chest. The man screamed in pain and instinctively grabbed onto Erwin’s booted ankle.

“What could you possibly have left to tell me?”

Blood stained his skin, but Eric still managed to grin through the pain. “Since I was ordered to sacrifice my life, I might as well add one more thorn to that bastard’s side,” he said. Erwin didn’t change his cold expression, but alarms rang in his head. “Erwin, you fell so completely for his trap.” The man coughed violently and shuddered, but Erwin stepped off of him and lifted him by the shirt.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, you’re interested now?”

“Tell me!”

The man laughed. “Fine, fine. I’m not Eric,” he said. “Eric made me pose as him, and he fled while you attacked the third camp.”

Erwin’s cool expression finally cracked, and he dropped the fake Eric in his shock. That could only mean one thing.

The others were in grave danger.

Erwin immediately ran out of the tent and startled violently when a black figure appeared by his right, and when he swung his fist out towards it his hand was caught.

“Erwin, it’s me!” Jezebel yelled in a hurry. “We don’t have time!”

Erwin didn’t stop to ask what she was doing there, or how she knew about what was happening. He ran towards the closest truck and hopped in. Jezebel followed, and for the first time in years she pulled the cloth from around her face down and allowed the cool air to brush against her skin.

“You fucked up, Erwin,” she said. “You played right into his hands.”

Erwin clenched his hands and teeth and fully stepped down on the gas. “I know!” he shouted angrily. “He wanted this from the start. Why didn’t I see?”

Jezebel sighed. “You should have involved your people.”

Erwin knew that. He regretted not telling them now. Would they be okay? “I’m so sorry,” he whispered to himself. “Krista, everyone, forgive me.”

The night was unrelenting as they sped hurriedly through it, towards a fate unknown.

XxX

The moment that everyone realized that something terrible was about to happen was when they heard the foreign sound of their alarm going off. It was loud and deafening and it woke each and every one of them with a start.  This was the intruder alarm, and none of them had ever expected to hear it.

Homura was the first up, but he didn’t make it far. Within the first step out of his apartment the butt of a gun connected with his temple and knocked him unconscious. The soldier that had done that barked orders for his men to tie Homura up and carry him to the centre of the road. They did as ordered, and others hurried inside to inspect the place. There they found Nova and Kusano, both crying. They grabbed them too and took them out to where they were gathering the others.

“How many are there?” a soldier by the name of Riza asked of her surrounding subordinates.

“Sir, Eric informed that there are seven, sir! However one extra child has been found!”

Riza narrowed her eyes and turned to look at the unconscious man and the two children gripping onto his clothing in fright. “Whatever. Set up the tent and capture the others! We must act before their leader returns!”

The men all saluted and then hurried to break the doors down of the other houses.

XxX

“Ymir, what are we going to do?”

Ymir calmly watched the area as soldiers flooded in from their gate. “I don’t know,” she answered.

They were both crouched on the roof, hidden and out of sight. They were lucky for the darkness, too, but that wouldn’t last for long.

“We should find a way out of here for now.”

Ymir bit into her lip. “They’re everywhere.”

Krista tightened her hand around Ymir’s. “Fuck.”

Now was not the time to be aroused by her lover’s swearing, so Ymir wasn’t. She was enraged and unamused.

There was no question as to how the rebels had gotten in. Someone, by some miracle, had managed to get inside of their base and switch their generators off. That was the only way to shut the E field off. After the generators were switched off the intruder alarm had gone off, which basically told them that the E field was gone and they were fucked.

Thank god for Hanji’s paranoia and her thinking. If she hadn’t implemented that beautiful alarm then they would have been surprised by guns in their faces.

“Ymir, they have Petra.” Krista nudged Ymir’s side and pointed to the middle of the street.

Two women had knocked Petra out and they were carrying her unconscious body to where Homura’s was. Nova cried out for her mommy when she saw her, but when Petra was roughly dropped beside Homura the little girl startled and Kusano had to wrap her arms around her and try to keep her calm.

Krista clenched her teeth and tightened both of her fists.

Ymir hissed. “Jesus, if you want to hold my hand then don’t fucking squeeze it so hard.”

Krista eased up slightly. “Sorry.”

“Mikasa and Annie got out,” Ymir said. “Look.” This time she was the one pointing, and Krista followed it to see Mikasa and Annie scaling the wall. They successfully made it over, and then they both disappeared into the dark.

“Good, they will do better outside at the moment,” Krista said. “I never thought that they would ever invade us.”

“Where the fuck is Erwin though?”

Krista released a sigh. “He must be hiding somewhere. Probably with Hanji too.”

Suddenly Ymir cursed, and then Krista sucked in a harsh breath. “No, they fucking got her too.”

Hanji was awake and struggling as a beefy man dragged her along towards the others. Her eyes widened when she saw Petra and Homura and she quickly stopped struggling. Because of that they did not knock her out, so she was able to gather the children in her arms and quietly sit down by the other two.

“Ymir, we should-”

“Found them!”

Ymir turned sharply and saw one of the shoulders standing at the edge of the roof. He pointed his gun at them, and Ymir internally cursed because they were still naked and unarmed and they were basically _fucking fucked. Fuck._

There had never been a time in Ymir’s life when she had regretted ravaging Krista, until then. Krista was having the same thoughts.

Both of them reluctantly lifted their hands into the air, and then they shared an intense look and hoped that somehow this wouldn’t end in the worst possibility.

XxX

After successfully capturing their targets they had all been tied up and put inside of the tent that had been erected on the beach. Their breakfast tent had been knocked down, and the soldiers were currently scavenging the area and enjoying all of the food they had grown themselves.

Of course, the group wasn’t all that aware of what was happening because they were all tied up and lined at the back of the tent. Riza accompanied them and sat in front of them with a firm frown and hard, piercing eyes. Two guards stood at the entrance of the tent.

“Oi,” Ymir exclaimed. “You’re with that Eric bastard, aren’t you?”

Riza lifted her top lip to snarl. “Shut up, prisoner.”

Ymir bristled. “Or fucking what?”

Riza stood and grabbed Ymir by the shirt – she and Krista had been allowed to dress before being dragged to the others. “Or I will kill you right now.”

Ymir narrowed her eyes. From her side Krista was panicking and desperately trying to think of a way to diffuse the situation.

“You fucking bastards have no right to be here! We have children, goddamnit!”

Riza’s eyes narrowed even further. A dangerous emotion crossed through her eyes. “We don’t care. Shut up or you’ll regret it.”

A vein in Ymir’s temple throbbed.

“Ymir, do as she says and shut up!” Homura exclaimed. “Think about the children!”

They were with Petra, who was the only one not tied up. She managed to convince Riza that she needed to be by the girls to keep them calm. So far it was working, but Petra was concerned about the way Nova kept trembling. At least Kusano didn’t seem too bad, but she was scared as well.

“No! I won’t let these bastards take us down!” Ymir shouted back.

Riza had enough and she pulled her fist back to punch Ymir powerfully in the jaw. The brunette’s teeth sliced into her lip and she grunted as she crumbled to the floor. Riza wasn’t done, however, since she lifted Ymir and punched her again and again. She even lifted Ymir halfway onto her feet to punch her more effectively, and the brunette had no way to evade the attack. Ymir silently took the beating until a powerful voice invaded the tent and ordered Riza to let the prisoner go.

“Stop assaulting the prisoner!”

“Felix, sir!” Riza immediately obeyed and dropped Ymir. The brunette landed on her face and groaned in pain. Riza straightened her posture and saluted stiffly.

From the entrance of the tent three men stepped inside. Petra glanced up in worry, and then her entire world came crashing down as she stared at the face of the person in the centre.

“No…” she whispered to herself in disbelief. “It can’t be.”

“F-Felix, sir. The prisoner spoke in disrespect and I was punishing her.”

The solider in the middle, Felix, stepped away from the other two. “Understood,” he said. He swept his eyes over the prisoner’s faces and then they paused at Nova.

“Oi, scum!” one of the other men stepped up beside Felix and wrapped an arm around him. “Know why this man over here commands so much respect?” He mistook the shocked expressions as terror and he chuckled. “That’s right! Fear us, you dumb fuckers! Felix here is capable of ripping your faces off with his bare hands!”

Felix closed his eyes for an instant, and then he turned sharply and punched the man in the nose. The bone cracked loudly and then blood gushed out of his nose, but he had no time to recover. Felix kneed him powerfully in the gut and then the man shot right out of the tent.

“Do not touch me!” Felix bellowed. He looked at Riza. “Report in, solider!”

While Riza reported to Felix, Petra began to sob uncontrollably. Luckily she did it silently, but the others had already noticed. No one could say anything, but the one most affected was definitely Petra.

The man Felix had short black hair, but his face was exactly that of Nanaba’s. He looked exactly like her. He stood just as tall, his voice was deeper and held more coldness, but that was Nanaba’s voice. His eyes were the same shade of startling, serious blue, too.

“H-how?” Petra gasped out between painful breaths. Nova noticed then too, and she started to struggle and reach out towards the soldier.

“Dada!” she exclaimed loudly, painfully.

Riza turned to the girl in confusion, and then she gave Felix a smirk. The man had seemed to stiffen.

“Didn’t know the great Felix had reproduced,” she teased.

Felix gave her a sharp glare, and then he shrugged and the emotion drained from his face. “I have no child.”

Nova continued to struggle and called out for her daddy, reaching out desperately and crying her heart out. She could not understand why her daddy wasn’t swooping down to pick her up and give her kisses all over. Homura scooted over to whisper to Nova in comfort, but that wasn’t calming her.

“Jesus Christ, someone shut her up!” another man, the second one that had accompanied Felix shouted.

“Damian, put tape over her mouth.” Felix ordered. “Do it with all of them.”

Ymir was still in pain but she had managed to crawl over to Krista and rest her head on her lap. She wanted to yell out, to ask what Nanaba was doing, but with the way the person was acting she couldn’t tell if it was just a look-alike or if she was going crazy or what. None of them knew how to react.

“Sir, a messenger arrived and reported that most of our camps were destroyed. Cain has been killed, but Erwin fell for the trap.”

Felix nodded at the man and then waved his hand. “Riza, Damian, go and talk to the others. I will watch the prisoners for now.”

Riza seemed concerned. “But sir, this is a job not worth your time.”

Felix straightened, and he towered over Riza. “Are you disobeying a direct order?”

Riza grew nervous and shook her head, and then she hurried out with Damian after he had taped everyone’s mouths closed.

Felix watched them go, and then he went to the entrance of the tent and closed the flaps. He did not turn for a long while, and his shoulders seemed to rise and fall quickly. Petra was still crying, and she startled when Nova managed to break free from her and run over to the man.

She could not call out, but Felix turned in time to see her. She paused halfway to him and stood there, watching with tears streaming down her face. She wanted her daddy to pick her up.

Petra couldn’t call for Nova and she wasn’t sure what would happen, but she quickly removed the tape from her mouth and inched forward.

Felix stared down at Nova and then he took a few heavy steps forward. Petra panicked, so did everyone else. He approached the toddler and dropped down onto his knees, and then he reached out and tenderly touched Nova’s cheek. He scooted closer and then gently peeled the tape away, and the moment he had Nova launched herself against the soldier’s chest and cried.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Felix” seemed surprised at first, but then he wrapped his arms around Nova and curled around her.

“Nova,” Felix uttered. “I’m so sorry baby girl, I’m so sorry.” When Felix lifted his head he met Petra’s eyes, and the orange-blonde knew in an instant.

“Nanaba?”

The black haired solider nodded and tears poured down her face. “Petra, I’m so sorry.”

Petra covered her mouth with her hands and didn’t waste time. She joined Nova and tackled Nanaba in a tight hug. She didn’t ask questions or speak; she just wrapped her arms around Nanaba and cried against her shoulder.

Nova calmed first, and after she had she leaned away to get a good look at Nanaba’s face. She giggled and pulled at Nanaba’s short black hair. “Daddy looks weird!”

Nanaba looked heartbroken, because she could see how much Nova had grown, and all she could do was suck in a deep breath to not sob like Petra. She managed to chuckle and pull Nova even closer.

“I will explain in a moment, but please, I need you all to pretend that I am Felix,” Nanaba told all of them. “If someone comes in they can’t see us acting friendly.”

Almost everyone had started crying, even Ymir though she hid it, and they were all confused as hell but they agreed. Petra refused to let go at first, so Nanaba had to pick her and Nova up and return them to the others. She stayed crouched by Petra though, and would come up with an excuse if anyone were to enter the tent.

She took the tape partially off of their mouths and wiped the tears from her face.

“Nanaba, what the fuck!?” Homura was the first to exclaim, though he did so quietly.

“H-how?” Krista exclaimed.

Ymir stayed silent and remained resting on Krista’s lap.

“It’s a long story, so I’ll cut it short.” Nanaba held Petra close and gently rubbed a hand over her back to soothe her. She was still hysterical with tears. “I survived the accident because these bastards saved me. They wouldn’t let me leave, so I decided to bide my time. When I was finally allowed to join a scouting group I went back to Snowpeak but the place was destroyed. After that I didn’t know what to do. I decided to dye my hair and pretend to be a man. Luckily it wasn’t difficult to do. If I rose in rank then I could search for you. Eric… he is a cold hearted bastard, and I needed his resources if I wanted to ever find you guys.” Nanaba paused and closed her eyes for a long moment. “It killed me to be away for so long. My baby has grown so much. She can talk now? That’s amazing.” Nanaba caressed Nova’s face. The tiny girl had easily fallen asleep against Nanaba’s chest, so she gently placed her down on Homura’s lap.

“I see you stayed with them,” Nanaba said to the man. He had tears streaked over his face too, and a startled, disbelieved look in his eyes. He probably would have hugged Nanaba if his hands hadn’t been tied.

Suddenly someone entered the tent and everyone startled. Nanaba acted quickly and shoved Petra onto her back. She ripped her shirt, pressed a leg between hers and roughly brought her lips down to Petra’s. The woman was too shocked to respond and all she could do was lay limp underneath Nanaba.

“Yo, Felix, we gotta- whoa!” Damian had returned and he grinned rakishly at what he saw. “Couldn’t resist, huh?”

Nanaba lifted herself and grabbed onto Petra’s chin. “This one dared to challenge me.” Her voice had deepened through perfect practice, and all trace of emotion had left her face. Now she looked at Petra with dirty lust and amusement. “I think I’ll have you send her to me later for some…. _fun.”_

Damian laughed. “Sure, whatever. At least leave that blonde cutie for me!” He pointed at Krista and missed the glare Ymir sent his way.

Nanaba slipped her hand underneath Petra’s shirt and grouped her roughly while looking uninterested. “So, what do you need me for?”

“Oh yeah! I just came to report that two got away. Their leader is on his way here and we are preparing.”

Nanaba turned to him with a frown. “Okay, now leave me.”

Damian snickered and waved his hand. “Have fun, and don’t forget the meeting.” He turned and headed out, and then he whispered to the guards outside not to bother Felix because he was otherwise occupied.

Nanaba immediately pulled away and fixed Petra’s clothing. “Shit, shit, shit, I’m so sorry!” She looked horrified at what she had just done, but there had been no other way.

“It’s okay,” Petra managed weakly. “If it’s you, it’s okay.” She was considerably calmer now, but she was still shaking violently. “Nanaba?”

Nanaba looked into Petra’s eyes and her heart swelled.

“Is it really you?” Petra reached out and gently held onto Nanaba’s face. There was a nasty scar cutting across her left eyebrow, and a few scars on her jaw and neck, but other than that she looked the same.

Nanaba smiled – it was that same charming smile that had won Petra’s heart from the beginning. Seeing it now, after so long, made Petra fall in love all over again.

“Yes,” Nanaba said softly. “It really is me, my love. I’m alive,” she pulled Petra in for a gentle embrace. “And I’m finally home. Don’t worry, I’ll get all of us out of here.” She shared a look with Homura.

“And I’ll kill Eric myself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


	36. Chapter 36

Two heads - one blonde, the other dark - peeked over the wall that once guarded the most envied camp in all of Japan. Their eyes hooded, they watched their friends get captured and shoved into a tent. No emotion other than deep resentment reflected in their eyes, and fluidly, as one, both girls dropped from where they had been perched. They blended seamlessly into the darkness.

“What do we do now?” Annie sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She leaned against the wall and watched Mikasa lean against the tree and look up in thought. When the taller girl finally met her gaze, she lifted an eyebrow in question.

“So?”

“We need to infiltrate and attack them covertly,” Mikasa declared.

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Annie asked.

“We’ll take out two of their soldiers and wear their uniforms.”

Annie chuckled bitterly despite herself and pushed off of the wall. “This is so disgustingly cliché I don’t even know what to say.”

Mikasa smirked and prepared to scale the wall. “Please, you and I both know you’ll have fun doing this.”

“Sure.”

They ran up the wall, their swords - which they had managed to grab in their haste - secured noiselessly against their bodies. Crouched on top of the wall, Mikasa and Annie made themselves scarce as they located a pair of patrolling soldiers walking along the wall. However, they looked as though they were… sneaking? Mikasa shrugged the weirdness off and beckoned Annie to follow her.

They descended silently and crept along the wall quickly, reaching the duo and leaping for a quick jab to a pressure point. Suddenly, both soldiers turned around with lightning reflexes and grabbed both girls’ arms, effectively seizing them. The couple cursed and scowled in sync, which made the taller soldier chuckle.

“Mikasa? Annie? How could you not have recognized me?” Erwin jokingly said.

Mikasa wrenched her hands away from his grip and sighed. “Of course, it’s you.” She looked at his partner and narrowed her eyes. Annie seemed to be in a much more painful grip than she was in, which was most likely due to the relation she had with the person holding her.

“Jezebel, please let go of her,” Erwin ordered politely. The woman at his side nodded once and complied, moving away before Annie could attack her. The blonde’s eyes shone like blue fire.

“We need to work together,” Mikasa suggested before Annie could spit a word. The blonde scowled fiercely and glared at one of the buildings, arms crossed. Erwin sighed and Jezebel remained stoic. She decided to remain silent.

“And we’ll save the explanations for later,” Mikasa added, sending a suspicious glance between the two adults.

“We’ll move on ahead and scout the guarding schedules. You two should focus on getting disguises,” Erwin suggested, shaking his head in the direction of the nearest paired patrol. Mikasa nodded in gratitude and pulled Annie along, who stubbornly refused to say a word.

The girls approached a pair of men joking as they shoved each other around, totally relaxed. A canteen was passed between them, and the men were obnoxiously loud as they vented to each other.

“Ahh… I can’t wait to get my hands on one of those prisoners! Damn whores, they killed my best friend a few months ago. Fried him to a crisp.”

The other one belched his agreement and took a swig of his canteen, presumably full of alcohol. “Yeah man, I’m gettin’ sick of these girlies rulin’ this place like they’re some kinda leaders.” He burped loudly and snorted, “wouldn’t mind them bein’ leaders in bed, though.”

Their uniforms might be a bit big, but they could manage. With a nod between them, the girls split up and sneaked behind each man, immediately lifting their chins up and slicing their jugular. The men grabbed their throats in horror, eyes wide as blood spurted from their arteries and mouth. As they gurgled their last breaths, the girls kicked them to the floor.

It was a miracle that not a single drop of blood stuck to the uniforms. The duo had been quick in undressing them, despite the obvious difficulty in stealing the clothes off of a corpse. Only a coat, pants and hat were required of the uniform, so the girls threw the coats on and changed their pants. They also hid their hair under the hats in order to appear male; the coats were baggy enough to conceal their breasts.

The bodies hidden, the girls left the area and bumped into Erwin and Jezebel. The man seemed desperate, what with his urgent, hasty movements and his facial rubbing. Mikasa put a hand to his shoulder and gripped it harshly, which made him stop and look at her. He breathed deeply and motioned to Jezebel. The girls finally noticed that the woman had removed her mask, which shocked Annie slightly but still made her wary.

“There are patrols all over, but they are all very lazy and lax. It would be no trouble to eliminate all of them - which we already did. The strongest and most concentrated population of guards are in the centre of the base. The prisoners are in a tent, guarded by a man named Felix - who is not to be trifled with, at all costs. I’ve seen him throw a brawny, muscled man across a room with only one hand. He’s Eric’s newest commander, and his sharpest. Speaking of Eric, the man himself should be somewhere in the camp, since he has nowhere else to hide.

“The plan is simple: we blend into the regiment and wait until the right moment to break your friends free. Once that’s done, we get them to a truck Erwin has parked on the outside of the base and get out of here. I’m sure you can find your own way to another safe place.”

“What about Eric?” Annie demanded harshly, stepping forward, “what about the bastard who will continue chasing us until we’re all made to do his bidding?”

Jezebel kept quiet, then: “just be glad you’ll live to see another day. Count your blessings, child, for you have many.”

Annie flinched but sighed, turning around and looking up at the sky. She could see that dawn was close, and so they needed to move fast. Erwin started to move then ordered the girls to fall into line behind him. When they entered the camp where the prisoners were kept, a man exited the tent and looked at them. Erwin felt a bead of sweat go down the side of his head as he stared emotionlessly at him; this was the rumoured Felix.

Felix tilted his head to the side, then straightened and approached them with thunderous steps. His face contorted in anger, he snarled and crossed his arms.

“And why the hell are you all so damn late, Jason? Do you have an explanation for me? It was just a goddamn recon mission, you idiots.”

Erwin was taken aback but quickly played along. “Sir, we encountered some trouble,” Erwin smirked and chuckled, “took care of them real good.” Inside, Erwin mentally cringed at his imitated rebel accent. These people had far too much slang in their vocabulary.

Felix’s face softened slightly and he nodded his approval. “Good, now I want all of you to go and keep watch on the prisoners. I need to attend a meeting, so I’ll be back soon.” Felix raised his voice so the whole camp could hear him. “Soldiers, these four are keeping watch on the tent, do not disturb them. Also, Riza is in charge. Understood?”

“Understood, sir!”

“Good.” Felix smiled and saluted the soldiers. He locked eyes with Mikasa briefly then turned on his heel and left. Mikasa narrowed her eyes but shrugged the feeling off. She could’ve sworn a twinge of familiarity resided in that face.

Erwin pushed the flaps of the tent aside and entered it after replacing the flaps behind him. He waited for the exclamations of familiarity to come out, but nothing did. Only despondent stares and fierce glares. Ymir and Krista took to glaring at him with such fire in their eyes he could only wonder why.

Kusano and Nova stayed under Petra’s arms with Homura in front of them. Hanji was off to the side, eyes blank as she thought. Ymir and Krista were together and still glaring.

“It’s me, Erwin.”

Suddenly, the tension dwindled and all that remained was slight annoyance on Krista’s part. Erwin ignored her and focused on getting his message across. He explained the plan he and Jezebel had concocted, as well as the execution method. He also let the group know of Mikasa and Annie’s safety, and promised to explain everything afterward. Only Hanji failed to outwardly react.

“What the hell, Erwin,” Homura complained, “You’re risking our lives by waiting. They want us dead, don’t you realize?”

“The kids, Erwin, the kids!” Petra reminded, tears in her eyes. Ymir nodded and Krista touched their shoulders, showing her support.

The blonde man sighed and shook his head. “I understand, but we need a distraction if we want to get out of here in one piece. I have a truck, remember? We’ll be safe.”

“And the zombies?”

Hanji’s voice was raspy from disuse, but her words shook the group. Erwin was quick to reassure her. “The truck is fitted with electric guns. We can burn our way through.”

The woman sighed and curled up. She appeared tired, weary, and most of all, untrusting. “It failed then?”

Erwin looked away in shame. “Yes.”

Krista gritted her teeth and made to yell, but Ymir knocked their heads together to get her to shut up. “Listen, shorty, I know you’re mad at him, but he promised to explain, so keep your head together,” Ymir reminded. The blonde relented and settled down.

“Hey, Erwin,” Ymir whispered before the man could leave. He raised an eyebrow in question and she grinned. “Did you see Nanaba?”

Erwin frowned, but soon realization flooded his face and he nearly laughed. He grinned and shook his head, opening the flap.

“No, just Felix.”

x

“So they’re all safe…” Nanaba murmured, and sighed mentally in relief as the thought settled deeper into her consciousness. They were all okay, well, as okay as they could be with more than half of them being kept prisoner.

Before leaving the tent, she had warned them all that things would only get worse from here on out, and so they should do everything they could to avoid getting on anyone’s bad side, especially Damian’s. She made sure to tell them of the man’s anger streak, and how vicious he could get if provoked. Ymir had laughed, then.

Nanaba smiled despite herself as she entered the bank, where all the strongest soldiers under Eric had gathered for a meeting. She quickly schooled her expression and sat at the chair farthest from Eric, directly opposite him.

The man was incredibly unattractive, with two gashes sliding down each side of his face and a nose evidently broken. His lips were thin and frequently pulled into a sneer, and his eyes were blood red. His skin was tan, much like his brother, König; his hair was a messy mop atop his head.

He kept a red, yellow-trimmed cloak around his body and a hood over his head. Nanaba had only seen his appearance once, but it was such a shock she saw it every time she spoke to the shadow that shielded his face.

Nanaba glanced around the room. She knew that each of these people were murderers, rapists, and plunderers. They killed who they raped, they stole what they saw, and they lied and cheated their way into this life. Why, the woman sitting adjacent to her was the one who murdered Olaf, and the man just a few seats down had been the one to kill Alphard’s team from so long ago.

I could end it all here, Nanaba thought to herself, hands twitching as she stared at Eric’s protected figure, I could kill him right now and save everyone. She bowed her head slightly. But I want to be with Nova and Petra. I don’t want to die just yet.

“Begin.” Eric’s raspy, husky voice snapped Nanaba out of her thoughts, and she watched one of the generals stand and report on the current situation.

Eric remained motionless and nodded whenever he liked what was being said. He let the generals argue and debate over the fate of the prisoners. Eric seemed disinterested, for he leaned back and lolled his head around in boredom. It pissed Nanaba off, because this man enjoyed ruining the lives of others without even giving it another thought. He wasn’t human, that was a given.

“Has there been any news on Erwin?” Eric said. The meeting went quiet when their leader’s voice rang out. They had been in the middle of a serious discussion, but whenever Eric spoke, full attention and respect was given.

A deep voice answered. “No, sir.”

Eric pushed his chair back and stood. He leaned over the table, the shadow moving across his face enough to show one red, startling eye. “I want him dead by sunrise. None shall escape me. And the prisoners? I want their heads on this table. Let’s have a public execution now.”

Nanaba jolted and instinctively stood. However, Felix quickly returned to her and she calmed her expression. Eric tilted his head at her and he seemed to grin.

“With all due respect, sir,” Nanaba began, “I feel like this is too soon. The prisoners have not yet fully experienced the horrors of the rebels. The women are untouched.” She cringed internally, hoping she didn’t just damn all of her friends to hell.

Eric contemplated for a moment and then opened his mouth; a hysterical Riza entered before he could say anything.

“Sir! All of our patrols were found dead, and four of them had their uniforms stolen!”

Eric’s body tensed and the generals held their breaths. Nanaba stayed sturdy and clenched her teeth. She had hoped Erwin had done a good job at hiding the bodies, but apparently not. Riza stared her commander in suspicion, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. Before she could connect any dots, Nanaba spoke up.

“Let’s do it your way, then,” she relented, “off with their heads.”

Eric’s shoulders shook and he laughed maliciously. “How wonderful! Finally, some entertainment. Hopefully their heads will coax Erwin out of his disguise. I cannot wait to see the look on his face.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I have prisoners to tend to,” Nanaba bowed and left the bank, Riza dutifully beside her. Eric’s happy expression dropped then, and he made arrangements for the beheading to take place at dawn, which was in two hours.

When Nanaba and Riza had walked far enough from the bank to be alone, the commander grabbed her subordinate and shoved her against a wall. Riza gasped in shock and then scowled angrily. She struggled fiercely, but to no avail.

“Felix, you trai-” a stab to her heart quieted her, and Nanaba shoved her body through the window.

Nanaba’s face darkened. Once more, she had to assume the façade of the ruthless soldier. With a deep breath, she charged into the camp and desecrated any hostile targets. The other rebels startled in shock and panicked, trying to calm down and fight back. Damian escaped the massacre and ran all the way to the other generals to warn them.

The woman entered the tent and hoisted both Kusano and Nova onto her shoulders. Everyone seemed confused as to what was happening, but she quickly explained the situation before anyone could get a word in. Erwin and the others sprang into action and covered the defenceless ones while they escaped. Krista kept close to Ymir, Petra to Nanaba and Homura to Hanji. The bespectacled woman had not said a word the entire time, staying deep in thought.

The group had gotten to the gates before she suddenly stopped and stubbornly refused to go any further. Homura looked at her in impatience, as well as the rest of the group, but she simply stayed put.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here already!” Ymir shouted angrily.

“No! Can’t you see? Are you all blind?” Hanji shouted back. Everyone jumped - Hanji never was the type to shout like this. Her glasses were on the floor, cracked from the impact after she stopped so suddenly from running.

Erwin stepped up to her calmly. “See what? Hanji, we need to escape. We lost today, so we need to live to see another day if we ever hope to defeat Eric-”

“That is exactly why I stopped. What are we going to do? Leave, find a hideout, and just wait for Eric to get us back where we started? He has armies of _zombies_ , and I don’t know about you, but I’m positive that they’re all just waiting outside beside your precious truck. This man is not an idiot; he’s an experienced, dedicated _killer._

“So here’s _my_ plan, because we’re a _team,_ remember? I’ll wait here for them to capture me, because I know for sure that they will execute me. Then, you can swoop in and rescue me, all the while killing the bastard. We all know he’ll be there to watch, so why waste this opportunity?”

“She’s right, this is the only way,” Nanaba agreed, “We need to give him the upper hand, then slap it away from him.”

Ymir and Krista looked at each other and nodded. A year ago, Krista would have been afraid. A year ago, she would have refused this plan and left to a safe place to hide. Krista had changed for the better, and so had Ymir.

“We’re with you,” Ymir announced, tugging Krista along to her. “We’ll be the bait.”

“And we’ll have faith in our friends,” Krista declared, smiling at Mikasa and Annie. They watched, helpless as the rebels approached at top speed. The remaining group members quickly hid away and watched as the three were captured and tied up. Ymir struggled but when threatened with unconsciousness, obeyed. Krista as well, while Hanji obediently put her hands out and closed her eyes. One of the rebels was kind enough to pick up her glasses and place them in her hands.

“Ha! Left ‘em for us, the assholes. How does it feel to be betrayed, cunts?”

“Shut the fuck up, you melon fucker,” Ymir snarled.

“What was that, bitch?”

Krista sighed when Ymir was once more backhanded and sent to the floor. She did her best to help her up with bound hands, and elbowed her harshly in warning. Ymir rolled her eyes and grinned, blood sliding down the side of her jaw.

x

The sun peeked slightly over the ocean. The beheading was to take place at the beach, in front of the ocean. Eric had deemed it rather symbolic, but Krista had cringed - hadn’t they just used this beach as the grave for their friends?

There was only one guillotine with a basket in front of it, obviously to catch the heads, and the blade was sharpened recently. Splatters of blood decorated the base of the structure.

The three were forced to kneel on the sand, heads bowed and facing the rebels. All of them were required to be present, with Eric sitting on relaxing chair in front. He sat with his elbows on his knees, his chin on top of his fingers. Only his evil grin appeared from his shadow.

“And so, your streak ends here,” he proclaimed, leaning back. “Once your friends come to rescue you, as I’m sure they will, they shall be slaughtered by my people, and all will be well again. Well, for me, at least.” He laughed maniacally and smacked the armrests of his chair in amusement.

Ymir smirked and Krista bit the inside of her cheek. Couldn’t she just resist the temptation for once?

“Hey, ugly! Yeah, you in the chair: did your mom have sex with an orc or something? I mean, goddamn I can smell you from here. Not to mention you need a blanket to cover your disgusting face. Yeah, get the fuck outta here, you piece of shit!”

Ymir grinned smugly to herself and sent an arrogant glance to Krista, who mentally slammed her face to a wall. Ymir just assured herself a quick death. The other rebels were booing her and some even looked fearful. Hanji snickered despite herself.

Eric seemed unaffected. “Oh, your words strike my heart. Well, that’s what I would say if I had a heart!” He laughed at Ymir’s angry expression and waved his hand around. “Whoever is in charge here - I want her head first!”

“Oh so you were offended!” Ymir chortled. She was roughly made to stand and walk over to the guillotine. Damian looked at her grimly, and then looked back at Krista in sadness.

“Too bad I can’t have the cute one.”

Ymir shoved her knee into his testicles and smirked at his agony. “Sorry kid, you never had a chance.”

“Ymir goddamn it!” Krista shouted as she turned her head around, tears in her eyes. “Why the fuck can’t you take this shit seriously?”

Ymir stared back at her calmly and shrugged. “I dunno babe, I’m just really chilled out right now.”

“As much as I adore this… tender moment,” Eric interrupted, “I’d really prefer to skip the commercials and get to the main event. Someone take the boy and tend to his balls - oh and, someone else take his place as well, a girl, preferably.”

As they waited for the arrangements to be carried out, time went by quick. Hanji smirked as she stared at her shadow. It was getting shorter; the sun was getting higher.

The next rebel wasted no time and shoved Ymir’s head into the half-circle. Ymir grunted and scowled at the smell.

“Hey, you cunt, watch it,” Ymir complained, “My head is worth more than you could ever achieve in your life.”

“I’m sure it is,” the woman answered boredly.

The brunette breathed deeply and closed her eyes. She thought about everything that happened to her so far - the apocalypse, meeting Krista, surviving, falling for Krista, getting to know her, meeting new precious people, growing, learning… loving. She knew that, despite all the shit with the zombies and the losses and the horrors, she had a good life. She loved and was loved, she enjoyed life, pissed important people off, had the chance to act like the superhero… Ymir knew that her only regret was the short time she had with Krista. As cheesy as it was, she wanted an eternity with her. She wanted to spend every moment of her life loving her and being loved by her, maybe having kids - she had seen the way Krista played with Nova and looked at her, she wasn’t stupid - and eventually leaving all of this terror to settle down into a peaceful life. If Ymir could, she would take Krista away to the highest habitable mountain and build her a house there.

Ymir opened her eyes and locked them with Krista, who stared at her with so much adoration and love she knew it was a good thing just then that she kept her hope tightly locked in her heart.

Behind Krista, Eric sat watching the rather slow decapitation. However, there were no longer anymore rebels. They all lied on the floor, their throats slit, their bodies twitching from electricity and their blood staining the beautiful sand red. They had all been killed noiselessly and rapidly. All that remained were the generals standing ramrod straight next to Eric.

All of the woman, including Petra, as well as Erwin, stepped behind one general and killed them. When the executioner noticed, she was quick to activate the guillotine.

The blonde smiled the tiniest bit at her love, and the brunette kept her breath slow as the guillotine was let loose.

It only took a split second for Erwin to jump and push Ymir’s head aside. In her place, his arm was severed and it took all of his willpower not to scream in anguish and pain.

Eric had managed to run up to Krista and hold her hostage against him, a knife against her throat. The other rebel had grabbed Ymir, but the brunette had exerted all of her strength and quickly eliminated her. She used the guillotine blade to cut her bonds and rearranged her priorities - Krista came first.

Petra and Hanji quickly ran to Erwin and the latter ripped the blonde’s coat to use as something to apply pressure against the stump. Petra was quick to disinfect the wound, but it was bleeding far too much for her to do anything.

Suddenly, Jezebel ran up to them and hoisted Erwin on her shoulder. Without glancing back, she ran away, leaving Petra and Hanji shocked.

“Erwin!” Petra screamed, arm stretched out. His blood coated her clothes and left a trail from where Jezebel carried him away. Hanji stopped Petra from chasing after him and smiled in comfort.

“He’ll be fine, she knows what she’s doing. Have faith,” Hanji reassured.

Petra could only nod as she lowered her arm.

x

Kusano held Nova tightly to her as she walked next to Mikasa and Annie. The little girls had been in a hiding place the entire time, and so once the mission was completed, they had been retrieved by the couple.

Homura had asked Kusano to watch Nova vigilantly for Nanaba and Petra while they went to save Ymir, Krista and Hanji. Kusano had accepted the mission with much seriousness, assuming the role of older sister and being very careful with a sleeping Nova. The baby had fallen asleep in her daddy’s arms, which had made leaving much easier for all involved.

It had been scary, since it was barely light outside and she heard weird noises around her at all times, but soon, she had been saved before she could be scared too much.

Kusano refused to hand the baby to either of the girls, and used all of her strength to carry the baby with her to wherever Mikasa and Annie were taking her. When she saw the beach, she ran ahead, ignoring any of the blood and horror and staying within her own little bubble of excitement. As she approached the water, she sat Nova in her lap and watched the waves come and go. Mikasa and Annie sat behind her, and the little brave girl collapsed against them in exhaustion as she fell asleep.

x

Eric backed up with Krista in his arms. He kept the point of his knife strictly against her pulse, and nicked her skin whenever she attempted to struggle. Ymir was approaching him cautiously - he was backed up against a wall, and had nowhere else to go.

On either side of her, Nanaba and Homura approached with their weapons. The crazed murderer looked hysterical; his hood was down and his face was bare for all to see.

“Back the fuck up!” he warned, eyes wide, “or she’s dead!”

Ymir snarled and glared hotly at him. “Why don’t you hand her over and we’ll let you live? How’s that sound?”

Eric laughed and sputtered. “Liar, liar! You’re all liars and you’ll all die. My zombies will be after you in a second, and I’ll be free! I’ll rule the world!”

Ymir snorted and took one step closer. “It’s just Japan, you idiot.”

“Shut up!”

Nanaba put her hand to Ymir’s shoulder and sighed. “Ymir, with all due respect, we need to take action. I don’t think he’s bluffing about the zombies.”

The brunette ignored her. “Listen, before we tear you to pieces, mind explaining how exactly you got all of this shit? I find it hard to believe that an idiot like you could start this, especially since you’re König’s brother.”

Eric stopped laughing and his face became serious. “Don’t speak of that fool. I started this mess, and he refused to take advantage of it with me. Of course, he didn’t know I started it, but that would have simply complicated things. Ah, you know, there’s so much you can do when you’ve got the government wrapped around your finger. They love power, they love funding it, and they’re so easy to turn against.” He grinned then, and then burst out laughing as though he just told a joke. “The president’s dead, his family is dead, everyone is dead! And now you will be too.”

Krista took advantage of their height differences then to duck under his grip. He had loosened it the longer he spoke, which was Ymir’s plan all long. With all of her strength, Krista spun on her heel and slammed the other one against his temple, knocking his head against the wall and killing him instantly. He had no time to react, for this all happened in the span of three seconds.

Krista breathed harshly and allowed Ymir to cut her bonds with Eric’s knife. The man’s body remained still on the floor, blood seeping from his head. Homura went up to him and checked his pulse. Nothing. He really was dead.

The brunette gathered the blonde into her arms and held her tight. This was the riskiest thing they had ever done together, but within months of getting to know each other and practice, they practically lived in each other’s minds. They had a deep connection that allowed them to overcome nearly any challenge.

Ymir gave Krista a deep kiss overflowing with love and relief, and Krista returned it earnestly. As the sun rose, all was right with the world, and their next adventure awaited them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Turbotail88


	37. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this marks the end of Distant Dayz. Turbo and I would like to thank each and every one of you for every kudos/bookmark/comment, and most importantly for reading. This was a blast to write, and we hope that it was just as enjoyable to read. Thank you.

Nanaba grunted softly as she hurried back up towards the nearest truck. Once close to it she used all of her strength, and with Hanji, heaved the body into the bed of the truck. After the corpse was properly secured Nanaba ran the back of her hand over her sweaty forehead and sighed in exhaustion.

It was well into the afternoon. The perimeter had been secured and the E Field was up and running as it normally would. There were no breaches found as of yet, and the area was safe. As Eric had said, though, a horde of the dead had stumbled down the road towards them but had all been defeated by the surrounding barrier and the traps that were still in the surrounding forest.

Since they were most definitely staying they had to clean, and that is what they had been doing for well over three hours. The sun was now burning brightly in the sky and it beat down uncomfortably on Nanaba’s broad shoulders. She glanced up at the sky, a hand lifted to shield her eyes, and released another sigh.

“You can go,” Hanji spoke up after swallowing mouthfuls of water from a bottle. “That’s the last one. Annie and Mikasa will drive out and dump the bodies somewhere. Ymir and Krista still need to finish cleaning the blood. Erwin is stable and Jezebel is watching him.”

Nanaba gave Hanji an appreciative smile. “Thanks Hanji,” the blonde said. She turned to leave, but then paused. “You know, I missed you too.”

Hanji’s eyes widened slightly, and then she broke out into a joyous smile. “You have no idea how much all of us missed you,” she said, sly tears gathering in her eyes. No one had really been able to process the happenings over the past 24 hours, so Nanaba being there, alive and well, was still difficult to really believe. “But I think one person in particular missed you the most… or two, I should say.”

Nanaba didn’t need further convincing. After giving Hanji a light hug she turned quickly on her heel and headed down to the beach. On the way she passed Ymir and Krista who were playfully arguing as they cleaned the puddles of blood surrounding the area. When they noticed Nanaba they quietened, and Nanaba paused by them when Ymir stepped in front of her.

“Nanaba,” Ymir said quietly. Krista straightened and pressed herself to Ymir’s side, looking up at Nanaba too. “Um, I…” Ymir was unsure of what to say. Like with everyone else, Ymir still needed time to grasp everything that had happened. She wasn’t really sure why she had stopped Nanaba, but she had, and now she was starting to look awkward. “You look weird with black hair,” Ymir finally supplied. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck.

Nanaba chuckled. “You’ve grown, both of you. A year isn’t all that much, but a year can change everything.” The tall blonde seemed to know Ymir’s feelings without them having to be vocalized. So she put a hand on Ymir’s shoulder and gave her a tired smile. She sent one to Krista too, and then she continued walking in her original direction.

Ymir and Krista watched her go, and neither would have admitted to each other about how much they desired to cry right then.

There, sitting on the fading beach sand was a sight that made Nanaba’s throat constrict. She faltered in her steps, swallowed, but continued to walk forward. She couldn’t have stopped even if she had wanted to.

Petra had Nova on her lap, and the little girl was giggling as Petra told her stories of the sea. Nova pointed at the gentle waves, smiling in joy and wonder at how pretty the water was. Nanaba honestly couldn’t believe how her daughter had grown. Her baby could walk now, and could probably mutter a number of words. Her heart ached deeply that she had missed so much until now, but she was back, and that’s all that mattered.

Nanaba silently dropped down beside Petra and kept her eyes trained on the horizon.

“This place is surprisingly beautiful, despite the trouble it caused.”

Petra, who had frozen, turned slowly to look at the soldier sitting beside her. Nanaba looked both a stranger, and familiar. Her face had hardened, a myriad of strange scars littered her face and her eyes didn’t look as gentle as they always had. But this was Nanaba, her Nanaba.

“Daddy!” Nova exclaimed happily. She wiggled her way out of Petra’s arms and launched herself at Nanaba, all the while giggling. Halfway through laughing she suddenly started to cry, and Nanaba choked on her own tears as she pulled the small blonde against her chest. At the same time she wrapped an arm around Petra and pulled her close, too.

Petra welcomed the hold and pressed her face to Nanaba’s neck. She inhaled her scent and shivered lightly.

Was this real? Was this just another cruel dream where she would wake in bed, alone and depressed?

“I’m so sorry,” Nanaba exclaimed. Tears poured so heavily from her eyes that her vision was blurry and when she attempted to look down into Petra’s face she could barely see anything, which made her laugh.

“Nanaba!” Petra exclaimed. “It’s really you, right? You’re really here?”

Nanaba pulled both of her loves tighter to her body and pressed her lips to Petra’s forehead. “I’m here, I’m alive. I missed you both so much.”

Petra grabbed onto Nanaba’s shirt and clung on desperately. All the pain and anguish she had felt over the past year washed over her, and she cried all of it out with her daughter and wife. When the emotions had drained her and she grew still, Nanaba still held her. Nova had cried herself to sleep, but she was cradled protectively by Nanaba.

The blue-eyed soldier watched the lazy waves and released a tiny smile. “I always knew that I’d find you somewhere,” she said.

Petra sniffled. “I wanted to hope that you had survived, but I had no way to know… what happened to you? How do you end up changing the way you look? What did you go through in the past year?”

“I’ll tell you eventually, for now, let’s just enjoy the peace before everyone comes back. I think Hanji mentioned something about a group meeting when Mikasa and Annie return.”

Petra nodded, sniffled again, and then she snuggled up closer to Nanaba. Not once had she released the tight grip she had on Nanaba’s shirt. The former-blonde’s smell was pleasant and calming and it sent wonderful shivers through Petra’s body. It was the only thing keeping her calm.

It would definitely take some time before Petra could move on from what had happened, and nightmares were sure to continue, but each morning that she would wake thinking she was alone, Nanaba would be there right by her side.

“Petra?” Nanaba gently rubbed her thumb in circles against Petra’s shoulder. “It’s been a year since I’ve said this… I love you.”

Petra couldn’t help it, she started to sob all over again.

Eventually Annie and Mikasa did return. Ymir and Krista weren’t quite done with the clean-up, but everyone headed to the bank to see how Erwin was doing and then sit down for a meeting. Hanji informed them that they would continue to be safe and she would invent more ways to keep them that way. Homura decided then to express his emotions to Nanaba, blushing lightly when the woman had given him a long hug. She hugged everyone, because it was wonderful to see them all again.

When night eventually fell, Nanaba started telling her story; all the while both Petra and Nova didn’t let her go for a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue written by CanaanAlphardForever

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter written by CanaanAlphardForever


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